Leeks: The possibilities are endless
It’s a wild Northern Michigan edible that is widely available in the spring, yet often overlooked in home kitchens.
“The uses for leeks are almost endless,” said Julie Adams, co-owner of Julienne Tomatoes in Petoskey. “Basically, any time you wanted to use an onion you could use a leek.”
Leeks, also commonly referred to as ramps, can be an addition to every meal.
Adams likes to serve them for breakfast, by sauteing them and adding to her scrambled eggs, or thrown into an omelet, quiche or frittata.
For lunch, she suggests serving them fried on sandwiches and salads.
“(For dinner) You can poach salmon on a bed of leeks and herbs with citrus,” Adams suggested. “They infuse a wonderful aroma into the salmon.”
Adams also suggests experimenting with leeks in soups, since they go great with potatoes and squash.
And you can also pair them with another wild spring edible — morels.
“I love walking through the woods in the spring when the sun is shinning. If there are leeks growing, there is a warm, comforting aroma that fills the air,” Adams said.
“You can gently pluck them right from the ground with the stem and leaf in tact.”
Leeks should be kept intact until use.
To prepare them, first, wash them thoroughly from top to bottom.
Then trim them at the root end. You should also trim the tops just as they start to turn to green leaf.
Like an onion, the leek has a lot of layers on the inside.
Each of these layers usually has a large amount of sandy grit between them. If you are going to cut the leaks into rings or small strips for cooking, soak in cool water after cutting to remove the grit.
Leeks can be prepared a variety of ways. Julie Adams of Julienne Tomatoes in Petoskey suggests frying them and offers this simple recipe for fried leeks. Once fried, they can be served on salads, soups, sandwiches, or eaten as is.
Ingredients
One good size bunch of leeks
Drake’s crispy frymix
Corn, vegetable or canola oil
Directions
Preheat a shallow braising pot or deep saute pan with oil to 350 degrees. Oil should snap/spatter when you lightly sprinkle it with water droplets.
Very simply wash and pat the leeks dry. Slice them thinly on the diagonal to desired length and roll them through the Drake’s frymix. Shake excess coating off through a strainer basket and gently place them in the hot oil, being sure not to overcrowd the pan.
Fry them until golden brown — overcooking will result in a bitter taste. They will fry quickly, so be prepared to pull them out with a slotted spoon.
Lay them on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.
If you require a high quality printout of this article, just click on the printer symbol next to ’Share and enjoy’, and we will do the rest.
Get the best website builder available anywhere –SBI! Lick here for more information
Return from leeks to Home Page
If you want to increase your site popularity and gain thousands of visitors – check out these sites THEY ARE FREE. Spanishchef more than doubled its ‘New Visitors’ last month simply by signing up to these sites:
Follow spanishchef.net on TWITTER
