Leeks, Yes Please

Photo from Flickr

I admit, sometimes I read through recipes and I am not familiar with some of the ingredients. I had heard of leeks before, of course, but had no idea how they tasted. What to do but pick some up at the supermarket and give them a try?

I picked up a few and brought them home. Luckily the recipe I was using gave a good description of how to prepare them. Cut the leafy top off, cut the remaining stock in half lengthwise, and then slice in 1/2 inch pieces. Easy enough. They smell similar to an onion, and when sliced they kind of fall apart. (The "stalk" is really tightly wound leaves, when sliced, these leaves separate.)

Leeks are big in Britain, and are a fairly hardy vegetable to grow as they have little to no pest or disease issues. However, they are cool-season crop and will take a lot of water and TLC to grow through one of our hot summers. For more information on growing leeks, click here.

My first attempt was a leek and bacon creamy risotto. It was a lot of work. And probably would have been very enjoyable, had I not substituted pork bacon for the much-less-flavorful turkey bacon.

Last night, I made a gnocchi casserole. I sauteed three leeks prepared as above, boiled the gnocchi and made a cheese sauce with milk, flour, a little butter and fontina and asiago cheese. The final step is to mix all the ingredients in a casserole dish and broil for 3-4 minutes. Then top with prosciutto. This was much better.

I will be cooking with leeks much more in the future. What new ingredients are you using in your kitchen?