Leek - Cuisine

Cuisine

Leek has a mild onion-like taste. In its raw state, the vegetable is crunchy and firm. The edible portions of the leek are the white base of the leaves (above the roots and stem base), the light green parts, and to a lesser extent the dark green parts of the leaves. One of the most popular uses is for adding flavor to stock. The dark green portion is usually discarded because it has a tough texture, but they can be sauteed or added to stock. A few leaves are sometimes tied with twine and other herbs to form a bouquet garni.

Leek is typically chopped into slices 5–10 mm thick. The slices have a tendency to fall apart, due to the layered structure of the leek. The different ways of preparing the vegetable are:

• Boiled, which turns it soft and mild in taste. (Care should be taken to chop the vegetable, or else the intact fibers which run the length of the vegetable will tangle into a ball while chewing.)
• Fried, which leaves it crunchier and preserves the taste.
• Raw, which can be used in salads, doing especially well when they are the prime ingredient.

Leeks are an ingredient of cock-a-leekie soup, leek and potato soup and vichyssoise, as well as plain leek soup.

Because of their symbolism in Wales (see below), they have come to be used extensively in that country’s cuisine. Elsewhere in Britain, leeks have come back into favour only in the last 50 years or so, having been overlooked for several centuries.