LEEKS!

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dan Abel said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

Quoted message said:

>>"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
>>news:[email hidden]...
>>
>>
>>>I cut off the unusable green leafy part and then douse the leeks in a
>>>sinkful of water (or a deep pot) and swish them around. I've never
>>>really
>>>had a problem.

Quoted message said:

I don't get this... I trim the bottom off of them, peel/remove any
external leaves that are dried/inedible, trim only the dried or damaged
tips off of the leaves then separate the leek apart as needed to wash
out the dirt.

I then slice the entire thing up in thin slices, INCLUDING the greens
and use in soups or braised recipes, and sometimes a small amount in
stir fry. Granted, I do slice the greens a bit finer than I do the base.

That green part cooks down well and seems to be edible to me?

What am I missing?

The same sense of taste as some other people? I don't buy or cook
leeks. My wife and daughter love potato-leek soup and make it several
times a year. I am very happy to eat it, and really like it.

So I just asked my wife. She doesn't use the green part because it is
too tough.

I have the same reaction as you do to recipes that call for just using
the green or white part of green onions. I just ignore that and put
both in. I've never been unhappy with it or had a complaint.

I like the skins on my potatoes.

I like the stems on my broccoli.

<lol> Since I've had discussions on this list, I've gone back to
purchasing whole Brocolli heads and peeling the tough skin off the
stems. ;-)

I can be taught...

but I still like leek greens.

I've not peeled a spud in years.

Yams tho', that's different.
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

Steve Wertz said:

On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 12:02:48 -0800, Dan Abel <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I've never understood the popularity of leeks. They cost a lot of money
and are hard to clean and cut. Then they tell you to throw half away
(or "save for other uses"😉.

I don't mind the cleaning part so much, it's the price. Leeks
cost $.80-$1/ea (3 to a bunch for $2.39-$2.99) in every state I've
shopped in the last 2-3 years. As far as I can tell, there
doesn't seem to be "leek season" either.

I think they take longer to grow so they have to charge more.

-sw

Here, there are 3 leek harvests a year. So that might be the reason why
there doesn't seem to be a season. The price does vary - a a season
comes to an end, they rise.. When the new stuff is harvested, the price
drops again.

Leeks are considered fairly cheap here. ATM, a kilo costs 3 Euros at my
supermarket. I think that is more expensive than the average price
throughout the year, but don't pin me down on that.

I don't know whether it works this way in (all) other countries.

In article <[email hidden]>,

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

I don't get this... I trim the bottom off of them, peel/remove any
external leaves that are dried/inedible, trim only the dried or damaged
tips off of the leaves then separate the leek apart as needed to wash
out the dirt.

I then slice the entire thing up in thin slices, INCLUDING the greens
and use in soups or braised recipes, and sometimes a small amount in
stir fry. Granted, I do slice the greens a bit finer than I do the base.

That green part cooks down well and seems to be edible to me?

What am I missing?

Ok, I gotta try this. My wife and daughter are big fans of leek soup.
And they both insist that the green stuff isn't for eating. So I find a
recipe, my wife says to look for Vichyssoise, although we don't puree or
chill it:

Potato Leek Soup
================

4 medium leeks
2 T butter
1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 t salt
1/4 ground black pepper
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

Trim and clean leeks. Melt butter and saute leeks. Add potatoes,
broth, water, salt and pepper. Cook until potatoes are done. Add milk
and cream. Heat.

The above isn't the recipe from the book, but I still made more changes.
My daughter is a vegetarian, so I used veggie broth instead of chicken.
I substituted white pepper for the black, and I added a pinch of cayenne
and a couple of swipes from the nutmeg grater.

I put the white and pale parts of the leeks (I just had two, but they
were monsters) in the soup. I put the green parts (minus two inches)
into a separate saucepan.

The green parts tasted fine, although the flavor was a little different.
The three of us agreed that the green parts (or at least some) should go
directly in the soup next time. I took the advice posted in this thread
and tried a bite raw. It tasted good.

--
Dan Abel
[email hidden]
Petaluma, California, USA