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In fact, leeks vegetables are so much a
part of the diet in England and Wales, former Roman outpost, that they
are the national symbol of Wales. Legend has it (and whether you
believe or not is up to you) that the Welsh pulled leeks from the
ground and stuck them in their hats on St. David’s Day in 640 so they
could tell each other from the Saxons they were fighting. It must have
worked. Instead of killing their own kin, they beat the Saxons and
saved Wales. Every year on St David’s Day the Welsh celebrate the lowly
leek by wearing it and enjoying it in all sorts of hot and cold cooked
dishes.
And, cock-a-leekie, a curious, but delicious, soup made with chicken,
vegetables, barley, leeks and prunes is practically the Scottish
national dish – after haggis, that is.
There is nothing like a bowl of humble leek and potato soup to warm a
cold and gloomy day, and its chilled counterpart, vichyssoise, is
considered an extremely sophisticated treat. Leeks go well with eggs
and in stews. They are delicious by themselves either steamed or
braised, and served hot or cold. I like to add them to any cooked dish
with sliced onions, where they enhance the onion flavor, and I think
they make a dynamite first course when steamed and dressed with a
mustard vinaigrette, then chilled.
Although leeks take months to grow and require much labor to mound the
rows with earth to keep the stems white, they have virtually no
enemies, making them almost a sure crop. For this reason, along with
their versatility, they were long known as poor man’s food. I cannot
for the life of me figure out how anything so delicious should have
been relegated in peoples’ minds only to rustic soups and farmhouse
dishes. Nor can I understand why we eat so few leeks here in America.
Today, leeks are considered a basic element in European diets, but here
they are often scarce, costly, overgrown and coarse.
Leeks vegetables are part of the lily family and are related to green
onions, onions, shallots and garlic. They have a wonderful flavor and I
don’t think onions are a good substitution.
Leeks vegetables are low in calories and contain large amount of
vitamins A and C. |