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Food for Thought Friday: 🧅 onion lovers, meet your new favorite veggie
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Hello and happy friday!
I have a thing for “underdog" foods that don’t get a lot of love… cabbage, beans, broth made from scraps, etc.
One of my favorite humble vegetables whose deliciousness often gets forgotten is the leek. Ahh, I love leeks! You don’t see them in the spotlight very often. They are usually one of several ingredients in a soup or other dish, but I think they deserve their own moment to shine!
Some benefits of leeks…
Leeks are in season year round. They last a good week in the fridge! They are generally inexpensive and oh-so-delicious sautéed simply with butter and/or olive oil! I doubt you’d regret adding leeks to any veggie sauté. They make a perfect “bed” for fish or chicken, or alongside/mixed into eggs. See insta post from 2015 (when I was clearly making my famous "green sauce" but before I had named it that!):
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Leeks have a scrumptious, mild onion flavor AND they don’t make you cry when you chop them! They sauté faster than an onion, too. Many recipes will tell you to discard the top dark green parts, but I think that’s dumb - the dark green part is just as delicious as the pale green/white parts! Yes, the dark parts are slightly more fibrous, but as long as you chop them thin, you won’t be able to tell the difference! (You’ll still want to cut off any especially leathery, damaged, or browning tops of the dark green part, but this should be a minimal amount.)
A few weeks ago, I was in Pittsburgh, PA visiting my family and we had some leeks that needed to get used up! I had requested my mom buy them to make my favorite Persian frittata - kuku sabzi - which you should definitely also try! I loosely follow this recipe, which - sigh - tells you to only use the white part but IGNORE THAT, so silly in my opinion!
Anyways… we didn't end up making the frittata so had a bunch of leeks and no plan for them. One morning the fridge was particularly sparse, so, at my suggestion, my dad sautéed up some leeks to go with his eggs… “Wow Jess, this leek makes the eggs 10X better!” he proclaimed.
A few days later, I went to visit my Nonna in the morning and we tag-teamed a delicious breakfast: she made an omelet filled with cheese and herbs picked fresh from her porch garden, and I cooked one big leek, sliced thinly and sautéed with plenty of butter and olive oil, and of course some salt. It was a perfect pairing :), Nonna agreed whole-heartedly.
I find that leeks are a wonderful “filler veggie” to add to any sauté or sheet of roasted veg. They’re great for when you want more substance, great flavor + texture, and a beautiful color to boot.
So - don’t forget the humble leek!
Importantly, here’s my recommendation on cutting/cleaning them, as leeks almost always have sand/dirt in the top portion.
The GPJ method to wash/prepare/chop leeks:
1) If any dirt is visible on the outside of the leeks, quickly rinse it off so it doesn’t get on your cutting board.
2) First, cut off the bottom tip of the root part and any rough, brownish/yellowish, super leathery, or ugly parts of the top greens. Compost these (or save for scrap broth if they're ok looking).
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3) Next cut off the white-light green bottom part of the leek, about an inch below where you see the first “crook” of a thick green outer leaf sheath.
Pointing to what I call the "crook":
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4) Check inside of the white part that you just cut for any dirt (hopefully there’s none). Set this white part aside. If you are chopping multiple leeks, repeat the above steps now for efficiency.
No dirt here! If there is any, you'll be able to see it when you look at the inside like this:
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5) Now, bring the remaining dark green leek(s) to the sink. With your thumb, rip through each leaf sheath starting at each crook - it’s kind of like unwrapping the leek. Once you get to the inner part, rinse though all the folds thoroughly with cold water, make sure you rub the inside white parts where the dirt/sand tends to stick. Repeat for each layer until you’ve moved through all of them.
This one is pretty clean but often the dirt will stick at the inside line where white turns to green:
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Here's the kind of dirt/sand you'll be looking for. Rinse thoroughly under cold water:
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6) Bring your clean leeks back to the cutting board, put each leek “back together” as they were, to make the chopping easier.
Cleaned top parts of leeks "put back together":
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7) If you like, cut the long white part once in half lengthwise. Line up the dark green sections and gather the white/light green parts, and chop all into thin ribbons. The thinner you chop them, the faster they will cook.
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And that's it! Make some leeks! Let me know what you think :)
Happy cooking!
Love,
Jess
PS. This broccoli-leek dip is pretty magical if you're looking for something more special/complex.
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All photos are taken by me and recipes written by me, unless otherwise noted.
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Hi, I'm Jess! I help health-conscious, busy people transform their cooking from chore to lifestyle through intuitive cooking, which I teach through online classes, free content, coaching and more. This is my newsletter, Food for Thought Fridays, where I share highly actionable tips and inspiration to help you cook more intuitively (which makes cooking feel easier and SO much more fun!). Once a month, I share a recipe that's really worth making, and I only share those with my email subscribers. Sometimes the text above may include affiliate links, meaning (at no additional cost to you) I get a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This helps me to continue to share free content, so I would love it if you buy through my link! Thank you for supporting Garlic Press Jess!
I currently work + live on land that is the unceded territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone. And I can't wait to eat at Cafe Ohlone! Check out this article about them.
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