There’s a leek in my kitchen!

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It’s one of my favorite lines from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs II (it was boat in the movie). Leeks make great soup. If you go online and look for recipes, you get soup after soup, but not too much else. I suppose the reason for that is that leeks tend to be tough and require a long slow cook. 


I bought a package of two leeks. One was medium and the other was large. I would recommend staying with smaller leeks because the big one tended to be more tough. 

Trader Joe’s sells something they call Trimmed Leeks. These have the outer layers taken off and they are already down to the most tender parts. Lots of people like to use these. I went with the regular grocery store leeks. 


One thing you always have to watch for is dirt. These things look like giant green onions, and kind of are. But those big leaves collect dirt. Be sure to cut the leek in half and separate all the layers. Wash each one to be sure all the dirt is out. 


Then it is easy to lay them on the cutting board and slice them into the width you need for whatever application you plan. 

The first one I sauteed with shitake mushrooms and used as a topping for a steak and a fish fillet. I put 2 tsp of butter into a skillet on the lowest setting. My stove calls it “warm”. I added the leeks (sliced to ½ inch slices) and mushrooms (5 oz, bought sliced from the store) and let them cook for 1-2 hours, stirring them whenever I went by. I tasted them occasionally and added salt and pepper as I thought they needed them. 

They made a great topping and were delicious. 

The second leek I made into Leeky Potato Bake. This was a combination of leeks and sweet potatoes. I have linked the recipe. 

Leeks have a very nice flavor like a mild onion. If you get smaller, more tender ones and give the a long slow cook they are great. But the tough ones are hard to cook enough and can be chewy. But I recommend trying them they’re pretty yum. 


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