What to do with leeks galore?

[Millymollymandy]

I need to use up my leeks and quick - but the sad thing is that I have seriously gone off leek and spud soup due to having made/eaten it so many times.

Has anyone ever tried just chopping up raw leeks and putting in the freezer? Are they any good for eating after freezing?

Alternatively any recipes for anything other than just plain boiled leeks (or the aforementioned soup ) to give me some ideas?

Merci.

[red]

I'm jealous

I thow leeks into casseroles etc.. so you could use them up that way.

or sweated in butter then some creme fraiche stirred in as a veg...

or you could cook it then put it in a quiche or something

my parent freeze leeks so it must be possible.. never tried it myself.. since i cant seem to grow them!!!!

what variety do you grow?

[Annpan]

My leeks are toaty wee things

My favourite leek dish is potato and leek cakes.

Mix chopped leeks with mashed potatoes and fry 'burger sized' amounts in olive oil.... serve with sausages....hmmmmm


Other than that I would just use leeks instead of onions in most dishes... I'd imagine a leek curry would be very tasty. And just coming up on St Davids day, very appropriate.

[Shirley]

Mix with eggs (now your hen is laying again) and make a leek (and mushroom ifyou've got them) omelette. YUM.

http://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/reci ... 16&catid=4 - leek pie

or this - which is very delicious indeed.
This isn't a tart in the traditional sense, but a risotto mixed with egg and cheese and baked in the oven. Absolutely delicious.

2oz (50g) butter
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
8oz (225g) arborio rice
5 fl oz (150ml) dry white wine
15 fl oz (450ml) hot vegetable stock
2 tbsp olive oil
1lb (450g) leeks, thinly sliced
2 eggs, beaten
2.5oz (60g) gruyere cheese, finely grated
2oz(50g) creme fraiche or soured cream plus extra for serving
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
large pinch grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in heavy based frying pan and fry onion and garlic until softened (3-5mins) - stir in the rice until well coated in butter, then pour in the wine and cook until the wine has been absorbed. Add a ladleful of stock and cook until absorbed, then continue cooking for about 20 mins, adding the stock a ladleful at a time, until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan and cook the leeks over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and just beginning to brown.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6, 200C, 400F. Grease and baseline a deep 9 inch loose-bottomed flan tin (or use a deep, springclip tin)

Mix the leeks into the rice, then add the eggs, 2oz of the cheese, the creme fraiche or cream, parsley, nutmeg and salt and pepper and mix well. Spoon into the tin and spread evenly. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake for 25 mins until the tart is golden and set. Serve warm or cold. Cut into wedges with a dollop of creme fraiche or soured cream... or whatever you fancy

Recipe from Linda Fraser's Quick and Easy Suppers ISBN 0 563 36904 3

Reckon you could also slice and freeze - not sure whether you'd need to parboil and refresh in cold water before freezing or not though. Have you dug them up or are they still in situ?

[Green Aura]

I think most veg need blanching before they are frozen. Bung them in boiling water for a couple of minutes and drain well. I'd also recommend freezing them in portions - they'll be a bugger to chisel apart if frozen en masse.

Like someone said above, I just use them for anything I'd normally use an onion for.

[Odsox]

I make a lot of leek sausages, but I think you may be vegetarian so not really relevant.
Leeks put in a casserole with a generous splurge of balsamic vinegar and olive oil cooked with the lid on is very nice.
Puréed leeks mixed with butter are also very moreish

Ann, small leeks chopped up are a good alternative to spring onions in a salad (or so I'm told by OH as I'm not a salad eater, I like my food cooked)

[Loobyloo]

Leeks are lovely in a risotto.

hmmm, hungry now.

[Millymollymandy]

Lots of good ideas, I knew you lot would come to the rescue! I particularly like the sound of that risotto tart thing, Shirley. The leeks are still in the ground.

Odsox I'm not a veggie.

Red - the variety I grew this year I was rather disappointed with as they are not very big compared to whichever ones I grew the last few years - they're bought here in France and called 'bleu d'hiver, race krystina'. Anyway now I'm pleased they are not giant ones as I just counted and there's about 65 left. Just looked, the big ones I grew previous years were 'Toledo'.

I did eat some baby leeks as spring onions as I couldn't get s. onions to germinate but they are a bit tough in comparison to s. onions.

I've just had the bright idea to offer some to some neighbours, though nearly everyone around here with a veg patch has two things in it, fodder cabbage and leeks!

Must remember to sow only half a row of leek seeds this year. My rows are about 4 metres long.

[Milims]

I'm so envious! Try leek and butter bean pots
Basically you layer sauteed leeks, butterbeans and cheese sauce. Top off with cheese and brown. Yummy!
They are also lovely added to the cheese sauce on cauli cheese. You can also add them to Greys grannys war time cheese pud, which if you make it with more bread crumbs so that the mix is thicker you can either make into a loaf or stuff into peppers
I love leeks - they're on the weekly shopping list for us!

[Millymollymandy]

Butterbeans are on my list of things to buy in England! Can't do much with cheese either cos of the astronomical price of the darn stuff here - another thing on my shopping list. Roll on April.

[Shirley]

They are yummy stirred into mashed tattie for a shepherds pie topping. Won't they stay in the ground a bit longer M3, or do you need the space?

[Rosendula]

I freeze them. I cut them into slices and spread them out on a tray until they're frozen, then transfer them to bags or boxes. That way they don't stick together as much. The advice is to blanch them, but TBH I don't bother.

My leeks are toaty wee things

Annpan, mine are like little pencils, too. I know what I did wrong though, and perhaps you did the same. If you start them off in trays and transplant them, you're meant to dib a hole, drop the leek in and just water it. Apparently the leek then swells to fill the hole, or so I've been told. I knew that when I planted mine, yet for some reason I still pushed the soil in around them like you would other plants. Did you do that too?

A guy a few plots up from me gave me a few, so I've got some in the freezer and I'm hoping my own will grow a little bit more in the meantime. If not, I'll use them anyway but more as a flavouring rather than a vegetable.

[kiwirach]

Nigella has a lovely leek and cheese risotto that i make quite often. tis the only way i'll eat leeks at the moment....still new to them.

if you want to know more i'll find the book and message you.

[Annpan]

My leeks are toaty wee things

Annpan, mine are like little pencils, too. I know what I did wrong though, and perhaps you did the same. If you start them off in trays and transplant them, you're meant to dib a hole, drop the leek in and just water it. Apparently the leek then swells to fill the hole, or so I've been told. I knew that when I planted mine, yet for some reason I still pushed the soil in around them like you would other plants. Did you do that too?

Yup, that is precicly what I did.... lesson learned... Thankyou

[Millymollymandy]

Shirley - yes they will stay in the ground but they need to be used up within the next month as that's where my spuds are going - and I've got way more spuds than I'd planned cos my darned garden centre keeps giving me freebie spuds cos I've got a loyalty card!

I have grown leeks successfully whether or not I push the soil back around the dibbed hole - in fact the watering them in puts the soil back in the hole within a week or two anyway so I really don't think that the leeks swell up to fill in the hole, as it doesn't stay as a hole! The reason as I see it for dibbing a deep hole is because you've got a lot of leek and roots to fit in and the deeper you plant them it saves you earthing them up later to blanch the stems! I also just sow the seeds direct into the ground then transplant them later on - not sure why anyone would grow them in seed trays???

However - I've got light sandy soil so with clay soils it might be completely different.

Edited to say: I wonder whether the fact of you starting them off in shallow seed trays may be the problem - leeks have enormous long roots and at the time that I transplant mine, they have roots about 4" long, which I cut back to about 2" and trim the top growth. Perhaps you'd get healthier young plants for transplanting if you sowed direct in the ground. It's worth a try anyway.