Whilst trawling the net for inspiration of how to cook leeks, with recipes, the British Leek Association popped up! They have lots of new recipes for cooking leeks.
Leeks are a truly versatile vegetable:
- milder, sweeter flavour than onions
- smooth texture similar to asparagus
prizewinner-leeks
Our leeks will see us through the winter- we have several months supply left in the ground. They seem particularly delicious this year, and the hard, frosty weather has not hurt them at all.
close-spaced-leeks
A recipe for leek soup:
Ingredients
- 2 leeks – washed & sliced (about 10oz)
- 2 potatoes – peeled & sliced (about 10oz)
- 3 rashers lean & chopped bacon (about 5oz)
- 1 pint stock
- 1/2 pint milk
- freshly ground pepper
cooking-leek-soup
Method:
- gently cook the bacon, leeks and potatoes until the leeks are soft, but not coloured
- add the stock and simmer until the potatoes are tender
- liquidise
- return to the pan and add the milk
- serve when hot
Click this link for recipes showing how to cook leeks.
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Our neighbour has just dropped off this delightful Christmas gift; a homemade present which we will really enjoy!
Christmas-gift
It reminded me how important presentation is:
- the chunky raffia bow
- the guinea fowl label
- with a sprig of holly
The vegetable garden is a great source of homemade gifts:
preserves
We will certainly enjoy the homemade present which we received as a Christmas gift – thank you neighbour!
Here is a recipe using Brussels sprouts which is ideal for a winter lunch or supper.
sprouts-with-bacon
Ingredients for 2 people:
- 14 cleaned Brussels sprouts
- medium onion peeled & chopped
- 4 rashers of bacon chopped
- rapeseed oil for frying
- black pepper
Method:
- place the sprouts in boiling water & par-boil until just crunchy (about 8 minutes)
- drain the sprouts
- as the sprouts are cooking, fry the onion and bacon until crunchy in the rapeseed oil
- add the partly cooked sprouts to the frying mixture, and stir in for about 3 minutes
- grind some black pepper over the mixture
- serve!
Time: about 15 minutes from start to finish
We used Bridget sprouts & Woburn Country Foods black back bacon as it gave it a sweet, smoky flavour.
dish-of-sprouts-with-bacon
This is another sprout recipe to add the GreatBigVegetableChallenge list!
Served with a baked potato, it was a great Sprout Supper!
Celeriac and apple mash
apples
We had this yesterday during a conference at Chatsworth House. It went well with the beef cobbler – and would be the perfect accompaniment for game.
Ingredients for apple and celeriac mash:
2 Bramley apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 small celeriac – about 500g, peeled and cut into chunks
knob of butter
Caster sugar to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Method:
- Add the apple and celeriac chunks to a large pan of boiling, salted water.
- Boil for 8-10 minutes until tender.
- Drain.
- Mash, until smooth, with a potato masher or ricer, adding the butter and some ground black pepper.
- Taste and add a little caster sugar if the mixture is a bit tart
This recipe for apple and celeriac mash is a quick and easy recipe, ideal for the colder months.
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brussels-sprouts
The GBVC is wanting recipes using Brussels sprouts.
TopVeg loves sprouts steamed for 15 minutes – & can’t really beat that – but do let us know if you have a mouthwatering sprout recipe.
Sprouts are ready in the garden now, and should last for several months, so we could do with some variation!
Brussels-sprout-row
It is all for a very good cause – Royal Navy Commanding Officer Wayne Keble OBE who is in charge of the illustrious HMS Bulwark, has dared to suggest that sprouts should be banned from the captain’s table – he actually called them the ‘devil’s vegetable.’
The Captain added “One of my roles as Commanding Officer is to ensure that we are fit and healthy and that we have a healthy lifestyle, moderate our alcohol intake and make sure we are not overweight.”
But, sprouts fill that role – as they are full of fibre, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium and iron- just what his 390-strong team of sailors and Royal Marines need.
The GBVC is hoping that some tempting recipes will change the Captain’s mind – & hopefully win him over to sprouts. So recipes for Brussels sprouts are wanted for a good cause; please send them in!
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The main thing you need to pickle onions is plenty of time, otherwise it is quite straightforward!
pickled-onions-pink
- most people use shallots for pickled onions
- make a brine solution by dissolving 8oz of salt in 4 pints of water
- skin the onions – using a stainless steel or silver knife – as they will discolour
- cover the onions in a cold brine solution for at least 24 hours. Place a dish over the top of the onions to make sure they are covered with brine. The brine draws the water out of the onions & makes them crispy.
- drain the onions from the brine
- fill a clean, sterilised jar with onions & cover with spiced pickling vinegar
pickled-onion-jars
The spiced pickling vinegar can be of any flavour & it is worth trying a few different ones.
It is possible to buy spiced pickling vinegar, or you can make your own using a different vinegar (cider, wine, raspberry vinegar etc) & add your own combination of spices. Pre-mixed pickling spices can be found in supermarkets, or you can add your own combination of chillies, ginger, pepper, mustard seeds etc..
Topper-pickled-onions
It is very easy to pickle onions, just time consuming! But a jar of home-made pickled onions is a treat – or an excellent gift or Christmas present.
This Green tomato chutney recipe is a great combination of apples, shallots and green tomatoes. It is cheap & easy to make if you grow your own apples, shallots and green tomatoes. It is also a way of using up the damaged, pecked or wind blown apples.
green-tomatoes
Ingredients for 5 or 6 500kg jars
- 1.5kg green tomatoes
- 1 kg cooking apple
- 450g shallots
- 450g sultanas
- 450g demerara sugar
- juice of 2 lemons
- 50g root ginger
- 50g salt
- 25g mustard seeds
- 1.75litres wine vinegar
- 2 red chillies
chutney-green-tomato
Method
- cut up the tomatoes
- peel, core and chop the apples
- peel and slice the shallots
- crush the ginger with a rolling pin
- halve the chillies
- place the ginger & chillies in a muslin bag, tie it securely & place in the preserving pan, & add all the other ingredients
- put the pan on a gentle heat & stir until the sugar has dissolved
- then simmer for about two hours without the lid on the pan
- when there is no more runny liquid, and the chutney is creamy and thick, remove the muslin bag
- pour into warm, sterilised jars, cover, seal and label
- keep for 2 months to allow the flavour to develop
This recipe for green tomato chutney will make a good Christmas gift.
Today we had our first leeks & to celebrate we did the ‘leeks au gratin’ recipe.
leek-dug-Pandora
Ingredients:
- 6 leeks – sliced across in circles1/2″ thick
- 250ml double cream – must be double!
- 2 handfuls grated cheese
Method:
- drop leeks into a pan of boiling water – bring back to the boil. Simmer for one minute & drain well.
- place leeks in a shallow, greased oven-proof dish.
- cover leeks with the double cream
- sprinkle the grated cheese on top
- cook in oven preheated to 180C for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
This recipe for Leeks au Gratin could not be easier & produces a very special dish.
For more vegetable recipes, try this book from Amazon:
Champ is an Irish recipe of mashed potatoes with butter and spring onions (scallions if you are in Ireland!)
Ingredients:
- 4 pounds (1.8kg) potatoes
- 1/2 pint (300ml) milk
- 1 cup (225g) chopped spring onions
- 1/2 cup (110g) butter
- Salt and black pepper
Saxon
Method:
- Cook peeled potatoes in boiling water.
- Simmer milk and spring onions together for five minutes.
- Strain and mash potatoes, but keep them hot.
- Add hot milk, spring onions, salt, pepper, and half the butter.
- Stir in.
- Serve very hot, with a well of melted butter in the middle.
Joanna has some wonderful versions of mashed potato recipes at this link.
Try this Irish potato recipe for Champ to warm you up!
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This recipe for pickled runner beans is good for using up the surplus runner beans.
Ingredients:
* 1.5lb runner beans
* 1pint malt vinegar
* 1.5lb granulated sugar
* 1 level teaspoon ground allspice
* pepper
runner-bean-branch
Method
1. String & slice beans
2. Cook in lightly salted boiling water for about 8 mins. & drain.
3. Mix vinegar,sugar, allspice & pepper in pan, & stir over low heat till sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil, simmer for 5 mins.
4. Add drained beans to vinegar mixture & simmer for another 5 mins.
5. Take beans out of vinegar & pack tightly into clean jars. Top up the jars with the vinegar mixture so the beans are completely covered.
6. Cover with vinegar proof lids & label.
7.Store in cool, dark place for a fortnight before eating.
cooking-leek-soup
