We grow the Bandit variety.

Leeks

The sections below were copied with permission from Mi Ae Lipe’s Tastes from the Valley to Bluff: The Featherstone Farm Cookbook (2008).

Storage

Leeks should be stored unwashed and loosely wrapped in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator vegetable crisper. They will keep for up to 1 or 2 weeks this way.

Complementary Herbs, Seasonings, & Foods

Bacon, basil, béchamel sauce, beets, breadcrumbs, butter, cheese, chervil, chicken, cream, fish, ham, hollandaise sauce, lemon, mustard, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, parsley, peas, potatoes, red wine, sage, thyme, tomatoes, veal, vinaigrette.

Serving Suggestions

• Leeks become creamy and subtly sweet when baked. Serve them hot or cold with vinaigrette dressing, or layer them in a dish with ham and cheese and bake until they are hot and bubbling.

• Sprinkle thinly sliced raw leeks atop salads.

• Don't throw away the trimmed darker green tops; they make wonderful soup stock.

• Bake leeks and asparagus together and top with hollandaise sauce for a first-class worthy of royalty -- or your family.

• Throw leeks on the grill along with tomatoes and peppers for a tasty summer treat.

• Braise leeks in chicken or meat stock until the leeks are glazed.

• Mix finely chopped raw leeks with sour cream, a little pepper, and Worchester sauce for a chip dip.

• For a delicious, hearty vegetable side dish, place leeks, sweet potato wedges, and whole garlic cloves in a casserole dish and drizzle with olive oil, seasoned salt or Old Bay seasoning, and pepper. Cover and bake in a 375°F over for about 1 hour, or until the sweet potatoes are tender.

• Braised leeks make a sumptuous accompaniment to rich meats like roast pork, beef, and lamb.

• Sauté leeks with fennel for a tasty, surprise vegetable side dish.

Links

Cook out the Box - Focus: Leeks

Recipes

Potato Leek Soup (serves 6)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3 cups leeks, white and part of the green included, well-washed and chopped

1/2 cup chopped onions

6 cups cubed potatoes, skins on

1 carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, chopped

7 cups vegetable stock or water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup milk or soy milk

1. Heat the oil and butter in a medium-sized soup pot. Stir in the leeks and onions. Cook on low heat, wihtout browning, for 5 minutes.

2. Add the potatoes, carrot, celery, stock or water, and salt. Bring to a boil, decrease the heat and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.

3. Let the soup cool slightly. Then pureé it in a blender or run it through a food mill.

4. Add the milk. Return the soup to the pot and gently reheat. Do not let it boil, as this will scald the milk. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Credit: Tracy, Featherstone Farm CSA member

Cream of Leek Soup (3 to 4 Small Servings)

This was sent in by Featherstone Farm CSA member Claire, who revised it from Cooking Basics for Dummies by Bryan Miller and Marie Rama. Claire says, "Everyone seems to love this soup. I always use the 2% milk instead of cream, and also have gotten away with 3 instead of 4 leeks."

3 to 4 medium leeks, cleaned and trimmed

1 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely minced

3 tablespoons flour

2&2/3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 cup milk

Generous dash of nutmeg (optional)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half or 2% milk

4 small chervil sprigs or 1 tablespoon chopped chives (optional)

1. Quarter the leeks lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch-long pieces. (You should have about 2&1/2 cups.)

2. In a large saucepan or pot, melt the butter with olive oil over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often.

3. Add the flour, blending well with a wooden spoon or wire whisk. Add the chicken or vegetable broth, 1/2 cup milk, nutmeg (if desire), salt and pepper. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Cool the soup slightly. (Hot liquids in blenders could trap steam and explode.) Spoon and scrape the mixture into a blender or food processor container and purée well.

5. To serve hot, warm the cream or half-and-half or 2% milk. Just before serving, add it to the soup and stir well. To serve cold, chill the soup and add the cold cream or half-and-half or 2% milk before serving. Always check the seasonings before serving. Garnish each serving with a sprig of chervil or chopped chives, if desired.

Credit: Claire, Featherstone Farm CSA member

Baked Beans and Vegetables French Style

This recipe is adapted from a recipe for vegetarian cassoulet in Molly Katzen's great cookbook, Vegetable Heaven.

Ingredients

6 cups cooked or canned beans (navy, Great Northern, cannellini or similar bean)

1 pound onion, shallots or leeks

3 T. olive oil

3 cups diced potatoes

2 cups carrots, cut in matchsticks

1 T. chopped fresh garlic

1 1/4 t. salt

Herbs:  sage, marjoram, thyme  (1 t. of each, dried. Use more if using fresh herbs.)

Handful chopped parsley

1/2 pound chopped fresh mustard greens or chard or a mixture of both

1 cup dry red wine

1 1/2 cup flavorful stock (or water or tomato juice will do too.  Then add a bit more herbs)

Saute onions/leeks/shallots about 10 minutes.  Add potatoes and carrots and saute another 10 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT FOR mustard greens.  Bake, covered, about one hour at 350 degrees.  Remove from oven, stir in greens and return to oven, uncovered, for about 15 minutes more.  Add liquid if beans seem too dry.  If you like meat, tuck a few sausages, a lamb shank, a few chicken legs or a few slices of salt pork or pancetta into the beans prior to the first one hour of baking.

Credit: Cook out the Box 2010 - Week 21 

Barley Pilaf with Leeks, Bacon, Chard and Mushrooms (serves 4)

Ingredients

2 cups whole pearled barley

4 cups water or stock

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 cups sliced leeks (white part plus two inches of green part, washed well to remove all grit)

4 slices bacon

8 oz. mushrooms, washed and sliced

2 cups sliced chard leaves, packed  (chop stems and reserve)

optional - add fresh chopped herbs at the very end of cooking - e.g. dill or parsley or both

Chop bacon and cook until crisp.  Remove bacon and set aside.  Saute leeks, chopped chard stems and mushrooms in bacon fat (add a little extra butter or oil if necessary).  After leeks are soft, add barley and saute 5-10 minutes more.  Deglaze the pan with about 1/2 cup white wine.  Add about one quart water or stock.  Cover and simmer until barley is tender, about 45 minutes.  Stir in sliced chard and cook for a few more minutes.  Serve, garnished with bacon pieces.

Credit: Cook out the Box 2010 - Week 21 

Vichyssoise (vish-ee-swahz)

This is one of the most famous uses for leeks.  It is a rich potato leek soup served by Chef Louis Diat at New York's Ritz Carlton hotel.  It is pureed and served cold.  I was going to give you the recipe from the New York Times Cookbook.  But even I - cream promoter that I am - hesitated at the excess of butterfat in that recipe.  So I found this version from The Classic Vegetable Cookbook by Ruth Spear.   (You can get this book on E-Bay for about $5-10.  I found mine at a used book store for $5.00.  I like it a lot.)  The moral of this story is that every recipe is not the same.  Even recipes for supposedly classic dishes can vary greatly.  This is why you need to have some trusting relationships with cookbook authors or food websites - or your favorite bloggers! 

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds leeks, white parts only -- washed and thinly sliced

4 T. butter

4 cups peeled and coarsely chopped raw potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)

3 cups boiling water

3 cups chicken broth

salt and white pepper

1 cup heavy cream

milk

chopped chives

Saute leeks in butter for about 5 minutes - do not brown.  Add potatoes, water, broth amd 1 t. salt.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, partly covered, about 30 minutes.  Potatoes and leeks should be tender.  Let vegetables cool.  Puree (food mill, food processor, blender)  Add the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill at least 8 hours.  Serve in chilled bowls, garnished with chopped fresh chives.  Serves 8.

Credit: Cook out of the Box - Focus: Leeks

Roasted Leeks

Roasting concentrates flavor and accentuates sweetness.  Clean and trim and slice leek in half.  Brush lightly with oil or melted butter and  roast at 400 degrees in an oiled roasting pan for about 35 -45 minutes.   Baste a few times to prevent drying out.

Credit: Cook out of the Box - Focus: Leeks

Gratin of Leeks and Potatoes

Saute 2 cups of sliced leeks and 2 cups of thinly sliced potatoes in a little butter or oil until vegetables are tender. (You might need to cover the pan for a few minutes to let the vegetables steam a bit.)  Spread in a shallow pan.  Cover with a white sauce.  Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley, parmesan and buttered bread crumbs.  Bake at 375 degrees about 30 minutes, until cooked through and topping is brown and crunchy.  Variation - add some chopped ham to the potatoes.

Credit: Cook out of the Box - Focus: Leeks

Julienne of Leeks

Cut washed leeks (white and 2 inches of green) lengthwise and then in 2 inch lengths.  Slice lengthwise into very fine julienne slices.  Melt butter in saute pan.  Add leeks and 2 t. water or white wine.  Cook over moderate heat about 5 minutes, until the leeks wilt. This is good as a garnish with poached or sauteed fish.

Credit: Cook out of the Box - Focus: Leeks

Soupe Bonne Femme

This is also a soup served by Chef Diat.  When he was a boy in France, his family sometimes started the day with a bowl of this soup.  Why not?  I have adapted this recipe from The Classic Vegetable Cookbook.

Ingredients

2 cups sliced leeks - white and light green parts

1/2 cup chopped onion or shallots

2 -3 T. butter

4 cups chopped, peeled potatoes

2 cups boiling water

2-3 cups milk

salt and pepper to taste

Chopped fresh parsley or chives for garnish

Saute leeks and onions in butter for a few minutes.  Cook, covered, on medium heat a few more minutes.  Do not brown.  Add potatoes and boiling water and 1 t. salt.  Cover and cook about 25 minutes, until potatoes are soft.  Add milk to make soup desired thickness.   Serve hot, garnished with fresh herbs.  If you want, you can crush the potatoes with a potato masher for a smoother texture to the soup.

Credit: Cook out of the Box - Focus: Leeks

Cranberry Leek Compote (5-6 cups)

Cranberries also combine surprisingly well with onions or leeks.  This is a wonderful recipe adapted from Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland by Lucia Watson and  Beth Dooley.     

Serve at room temperature.  Will keep in refrigerator about 5 days or freeze.

1/2 cups currants or dried cranberries

1 cup apple cider

4 cups cranberries, rinsed and sorted

3/4 cup sugar

6 T. butter (you could cut this back a bit and not hurt the results.  Or use part olive oil)

2 1/2 pounds leeks, sliced (white and light green parts)

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Soak dried fruit in cider in a sauce pan about half an hour.  Add fresh cranberries. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes - until berries begin to pop.  Stir in sugar and set aside. 

Saute leeks in butter over low heat about 25 minutes.  Stir frequently.  Add cranberries and liquid and cook another 3-5 minutes.  Cool and salt and pepper to taste. 

Here is a similar recipe with a wonderful name - from Jane Brody's Good Food Gourmet.  She suggests baking this dish not more than 8 hours before serving for best results.  Use an ovenproof skillet to avoid extra dishwashing

Credit: Cook out of the Box - Focus: Cranberries

Last updated on March 16, 2012 by Featherstone Farm