Leeks are from the onion family and are a workhorse in the kitchen.
Learn how to choose, store, clean, prepare, and cook leeks at home.
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
Leeks are great workhorses: Dont have garlic or onions handy?
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
Swap in a leek and itll do right by you.
Theres also something sophisticated about them.
If you tend to overlook leeks, this guide will help you appreciate them to their fullest.
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
Heres everything you better know about leeks, from choosing to storing to prepping to cooking.
What Are Leeks?
Instead, leeks give us long cylindrical pearly-white stalks and stiff blue-green leaves that fan out.
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
What Do Leeks Taste Like?
Leeks have a subtlety other alliums lackthey are grassy, mildly garlicky, and sweet.
Plus, when you cut into leeks, they wont make you cry.
Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
Leeks give us more cooking options than most other alliums, too.
They can add flavor to a dish and canbethe main dish (hello,leeks vinaigrette).
Cooked leeks have a lovely sturdy-yet-silky texture.
However, there doesnt tend to be a noticeable difference in flavor between types.
How to Shop For Leeks
Leek season is fall through spring.
Good leeks should feel firm and look healthy from root to tip.
The dark green parts should be very dark with no yellowing or brown spots.
Avoid anything thats limp, wilted, or starting to shrivel.
As a rule, I like to stick to skinnier stalks, up to 2 inches in diameter.
A lidded container or zip-top bag thats not completely sealed is a good idea to keep their smell contained.
Dont wash or trim them until just before using.
How to Prepare Leeks
The dark leaves are too tough to eat but theyre greatfor stock.
Keep them in the freezer if you want to use them later.
Slice off the root end and then prep the leek per the recipe.
If youre slicing them, wash them the way youd wash lettuce.
Slice, then place in a bowl of cold water and swish to clean.
Spin in a salad spinner to remove excess water before using.
How to Freeze Leeks
Leeks can very easily be frozen.
Slice or chop the leeks.
see to it theyre completely cool and dry before moving on.
Spread your leeks into a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and freeze for an hour.
Use directly from frozen or thaw in the fridge or on the counter.
Frozen leeks are best used in soups or stews since they lose much of their structure upon thawing.
