BLOODY LEEKS

[soupfiend]

(and spring onions, Im looking at you too)

Honest to god, I said to myself yonks ago I was having nothing more to do with leeks because of their incapacity to be fully washed out and despite looking clean, there is then a bit of grit found in my dinner

But then I got seduced by a lovely looking recipe that called for lots of leeks thinly sliced. I wanted to try it

So I buy my leeks. I think to myself 'Im not being tricked by these leeks', I do the usual and cut them lengthways with the bottom still on, run them under the tap so that the water goes out of them, not into them, I do each and every leaf, I check and double check and dont see anymore grit

I slice the bastards and make quite a big buttered leek dish, portion it out and am eating some now

GRIT!!!!

Honestly Im sick of leeks doing this to me. And Im very confused how on the telly chefs just slice up a leek any old how, without cleaning them out, how come they are all nice and clean? How would anyone just get leek rounds like I see in stews?

And spring onions are just as shifty, they're another one.

They are labour intensive but for me they're worth it. I'd never discard the dark green bits. Leeks are wonderful in soup or mixed with mashed potatoes, especially with cheese as well, or in a quiche.

Exactly, the dark green bits are the best, I dont want to get rid of those.

I also never get grit, but I do wash some off each time.

Always peel off the whole outer layer. It often harbours a lot of the grit. And I trim off some of the loose dark green but not all. Then I make one cut lengthways from the dark green end down to where it starts getting paler and where the tube is tightly bunched together - the grit can only get in where it’s loose. I hold it upside down under the tap and splay out the cut halves and rinse them well. They’re still attached to the rest of the leek.

Then I chop it up and cook it.

I have never washed a leek. Didn't know it was a thing 😬🤣 I've never had any grit although I don't necessarily slice all the way to the top. I've never sliced long ways either. Just thin circular slices from the bottom upwards.

I cut into semi circles and then wash them. They always have dirt within the green layers so I am with you OP, I don’t know how people get away with barely washing them!

Same! I'm a slattern and rarely wash anything 😅 Still here to tell the tale.

Fill a tall flower vase with water, completely submerge leeks base up,& grit falls to the bottom - eventually.

@soupfiend I’m interested in your leek recipe, should you care to share.

Thanks in advance.

https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/melted-leeks-with-spinach-basil-and-ricotta.html

I tried to halve it, however used the whole lemon still. Its too lemony but Im going to eat it anyway as it made quite a lot of portions which are now in the freezer

I think even with the full amount of leek, it would be too lemony, next time Im cutting the lemon right down and putting dijon mustard in it as well. I did use the nutmeg but cant detect it.

oh^ looks delicious I'm not keen on basil but I would just leave that out I never know what to do different with leeks.

I nearly forgot the basil and suddenly remembered I had some frozen chopped stuff in the freezer, I like basil but you could leave it out completely

My finished product didnt look like the picture in that it was smooth, not with bitty bits of ricotta, I would have preferred bitty bits of ricotta like the picture, so its more cheesy but I had used frozen ricotta, might be different when using fresh. Also I chucked in the defrosted ricotta while the mixture was hot, I will leave it to cool next time

I also thought to myself that the flavour would be improved immensely by adding a bucketload of parmesan, which is also what I will do next time.

its probably melted that's why it was smooth bet it tastes nice though.

Yes I dont mind the texture and given Im freezing it in batches, its going to be heated once its defrosted anyway so I think you woujld only get that appearance by serving it warm or luke warm and fresh

Its a very fresh taste, as I say bit too lemony for my liking but it was quite a big lemon and I halved the rest of the ingredients so Im only going to use a little next time. Lemon and ricotta is a lovely combo.

And this is why I just don't buy leeks any more! Onions are much easier

@soupfiend Thank you. It looks delicious.

I will give it a go.

I just give the dark bits a quick rinse after I've opened them out a bit. Fingers crossed I've never had any grit.
It's cheaper to buy frozen atm, though, and Asda's ones have a fair bit of the dark green in, which is my favourite bit.

I barely rinse mine …. haven’t found grit.
Maybe I just wolf my food down too quickly too notice 😳

I thought this was a thread about ill-fitting tampons until I check the spelling.....

<misses point of thread>

Where are you getting these leeks?! I have never had a grit issue and I bloody love leeks. I don’t do anything special other than swizzle about in water and rinse.
Although I DID have a bag of gritty frozen petit pois <sainsbos I’m looking at YOU> a couple of weeks ago and it was revolting so I do feel your pain.

oh i also had gritty peas (tesco) there was bits in them.