Leeks are new to me. I’d heard of them, seen chefs use them on tv shows, watched Alton Brown as he shared his tips on how to easily clean them, but I’d never actually used them. Well I decided to try out a recipe that called for them and I was pleasantly surprised by the taste as well as how easy they were to prepare. The taste is a mild onion with a hint of grass-y herbal flavor and maybe just a touch of fennel-like licorice. At least that’s what I taste:)
They are part of the Allium family so are related to onions and garlic:
The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of Allium ampeloprasum, the broadleaf wild leek. The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. Historically, many scientific names were used for leeks, but they are now all treated as cultivars of A. ampeloprasum.[1] The name 'leek' developed from the Anglo-Saxon word leac.
A little history:
The leek is one of the national emblems of Wales, worn along with the daffodil (in Welsh, the daffodil is known as "Peter's leek", Cenhinen Bedr) on St. David’s Day. According to one legend, King Cadwaladr of Gwynedd ordered his soldiers to identify themselves by wearing the vegetable on their helmets in an ancient battle against the Saxons that took place in a leek field.[14]
Shakespeare, for example, refers to the custom of wearing a leek as an “ancient tradition” in Henry V. In the play, Henry tells the Welsh officer Fluellen that he, too, is wearing a leek “for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman.”
The reason I ventured into leek territory is that a former co-worker/friend gifted me with some fresh trout she caught on one of her and her husband’s recent camping trips on the Umpqua River. I had 6 medium sized fishies to work with and I wanted to make something special with them. I thought grilling them would be nice so I pulled out my lovely Weber's Art of the Grill (thanks pixxer for all the times you recommended it!) and found a recipe for trout.
I ended up making it in the oven instead of grilling because it was just too hot outside so here’s my version:
Apple-and-Leek-Stuffed Trout with Brown Butter Sauce
For the stuffing:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 ½ cups thinly sliced leeks, including tender green parts
1 ½ cups finely diced green apple
2 tsp finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
For the trout:
4 cleaned whole trout 9-10 oz each (I used all 6 of my smaller ones)
2 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
5 tbsp unsalted butter
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp capers, rinsed
In a large saute pan over medium heat melt the butter. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the apple and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the lemon juice, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 more minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Rinse the trout and pat dry. Fill each trout cavity with about ¼ cup of the stuffing. Close the openings securely with wooden toothpicks. Lightly brush the trout with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in an oiled roasting pan. Scatter any leftover stuffing over the top of the fish.
I added some quartered Yukon gold potatoes to the pan as well to make it all in one pan.
Bake at 375° for about 20 minutes until the fish is just opaque. The potatoes may take a bit longer so if they are not quite tender cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake until they are.
Meanwhile melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it begins to brown, 3-4 minutes. Add the lemon juice and capers. Season with salt and pepper to taste and keep warm over low heat.
Remove the toothpicks from the trout. Serve warm with the sauce spooned over the top.
Now after making that dish I found myself with 2 leftover leeks from the bunch I had picked up at the store. I eventually decided to experiment and make a casserole “concoction” using some chicken and potatoes. Leeks are well known for pairing well with chicken, as you have probably heard of Cock-a-leekie soup at some point.
While it is called “Scotland’s National Soup,” it probably originated as a chicken and onion soup in France.[1] By the 16th century, it had made its way to Scotland, where the onions were replaced with leeks.[2] The first recipe was printed in 1598,[2] though the name “cock-a-leekie” did not come into use until the 18th century.[3]
Cockie Leekie was also one of two choices of soup on the Titanic's lunch menu the day it sank on April 14th, 1912. [5]
So, my concoction:
Creamed Leek, Chicken, and Potato Casserole
3 Yukon gold potatoes
2 thin-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips or dice
2 leeks, white and tender green parts, thinly sliced
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup water
(Note: I often talk about how easy it is to make your own cream of mushroom sauce so if you are ambitious I encourage you to do that but if you just happen to have a can in the cupboard already I won’t tell;)
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Grease an 8x11 baking dish with butter or oil.
Thinly slice the potatoes like you would for scalloped or au gratin so about 1/4” rounds. Line the bottom of the baking dish with the potatoes, overlapping them slightly. Season with salt and pepper.
Scatter the chicken over the potatoes. Scatter the leeks over the chicken.
In a small bowl whisk the soup with enough water to thin it to a sauce-like consistency and then pour over the casserole. You want enough of the sauce to completely smother the whole shebang.
Bake covered for about 30 minutes until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork and chicken is cooked through. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or so until the sauce has thickened up a bit and the top is getting lightly browned. It won’t brown a whole lot but you don’t want the sauce to be too runny.
Remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes. Spoon into bowls and serve.
So I have added leeks to my repertoire and am looking forward to using them a lot more in the future. They are fairly cheap too! Oh, and that apple and leek stuffing I used in the trout is going to be incorporated into a Thanksgiving stuffing recipe for sure! It was a great combo of flavors that would go well with turkey.
Would you like to share your recipes with us? We are always looking for contributors for this weekly series. Please message me if you are interested! We welcome all levels of knowledge and all that matters is a love of food!
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