Usually when it comes to cleaning fruits and vegetables, it's a pretty straight forward process. Scrub and rinse or peel and rinse. There aren't too many fruits and veggies that stray from this. But there are a couple and leeks are one of those veggies that needs a little extra TLC in the cleaning department. Just so you or your family or your guests don't end up taking a bite full of gritty sand. Leeks show up quite frequently in our meals between the fall and spring, so I thought it an important base to cover here on the blog. And really it's not that much more work.
Step one:
Remove any outer leaves from the leeks that are extremely wilted or beat up. This isn't always the case, but periodically I have a leek that needs to shed an outer layer.
Step two:
Slice leeks into desired width, starting at the white base of the leek and working towards the green ends. Discard the first slice which should contain the roots. As you slice closer to the green end of the leek, remove the outer leaves as they become tougher, revealing a tender light green inside. Continue slicing until all the tender leek has been sliced.
Step three:
Using your fingers, separate the rings in each slice as best you can. The soil that the leeks are grown in gets wedged in between some of these rings, so by separating them you are making it easier to remove the dirt.
Step four:
Place leek rings into a bowl and cover with water. The leeks will float, so you want to make sure that there is about 2 inches of water below the leeks. Using your hand, gently stir the leeks around in the water to try and dislodge any dirt from them. Let sit for a couple of minutes so that the dirt can separate from the leeks and settle to the bottom of the bowl.
Step five:
Using your hands (or a slotted spoon), gently scoop leeks out of the water without scooping all the way to the bottom of the bowl so as to not stir up the settled dirt. Place leeks on a clean kitchen towel. Pat dry. DO NOT pour leeks into a colander because it would be like pouring dirty water over the leeks.
Step six:
Use as directed in any recipe!
Step one:
Remove any outer leaves from the leeks that are extremely wilted or beat up. This isn't always the case, but periodically I have a leek that needs to shed an outer layer.
Step two:
Slice leeks into desired width, starting at the white base of the leek and working towards the green ends. Discard the first slice which should contain the roots. As you slice closer to the green end of the leek, remove the outer leaves as they become tougher, revealing a tender light green inside. Continue slicing until all the tender leek has been sliced.
Step three:
Using your fingers, separate the rings in each slice as best you can. The soil that the leeks are grown in gets wedged in between some of these rings, so by separating them you are making it easier to remove the dirt.
Step four:
Place leek rings into a bowl and cover with water. The leeks will float, so you want to make sure that there is about 2 inches of water below the leeks. Using your hand, gently stir the leeks around in the water to try and dislodge any dirt from them. Let sit for a couple of minutes so that the dirt can separate from the leeks and settle to the bottom of the bowl.
Step five:
Using your hands (or a slotted spoon), gently scoop leeks out of the water without scooping all the way to the bottom of the bowl so as to not stir up the settled dirt. Place leeks on a clean kitchen towel. Pat dry. DO NOT pour leeks into a colander because it would be like pouring dirty water over the leeks.
Step six:
Use as directed in any recipe!
Thank you Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteGrowing up many times I witnessed leeks/green onions rinsed sliced and just thrown into whatever recipe--today I do wash everything thoroughly because of the "sneaky stuff that hides inside". Better NOT to take a chance and have to deal with e-coli, samonella or some other creepy yuck along the path from farm to table.
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