Garden cooking
Blessed leek
Manka Hanbury Ten ison
One of the vegetables I have most respect for (especially at this time of the year when the choice is getting a bit thin) is the leek. I have never yet succeeded in growing enough of them for my needs. Leeks must surely be one of the most versatile of vegetables: they are far more subtle than onions, more elegant to look at, nonfattening and, as far as I am concerned, too delicious to relegate to the, position of a mere accompaniment to a main course. The flavour of leeks is such that they can easily stand in their own right as a hot or cold first course, as the major ingredient in nourishing soup or as the flavouring for a quiche or covered pie.
The Egyptians went crazy for leeks, the Romans were so conscious of their value that they almost certainly introduced the Plant to England but, strangely enough, the leek has never, despite its long history, been all that popular in this country. The Welsh, it is true, wear them on St David's Day (a custom I have always found rather curious) but when it comes to eating them it is difficult to find more than a handful of recipes Which make anything special of leeks. Once You have got cock-a-leekie soup out of the way or read how to smother the poor things in a tasteless white sauce, it is left to French, Italians and Portuguese to bring out the merits of allium porrum.
Leeks, by the way, are easy to grow from seed and you should be thinking about getting them in during the next few weeks. Some seed catalogues suggest lifting and storing them in the late autumn, but unless You actually need the ground I believe it is Just as well to leave them where they are and use them as you need. They can be eaten from about the time they have reached one inch in diameter (the smaller they are the more tender they will be and the larger they are the stronger will be their flavour). If you like leeks as much as I do and the Egyptians did then it is probably worth staggering the planting so that, later in the year, you can take your pick to find the right size for your requirements; use the tender, thin leeks for serving cold or for slicing into salads and the larger ones for soups and pies.
One of the few drawbacks to the leek is its capacity to retain dirt and grit within its tightly furled leaves. Don't be tempted to massacre the stalk to remove the dirt (unless of course you want to slice the leeks anyway). There is a magic formula for removing it: trim off the coarse outer leaves and the ragged ends at the top — don't remove all the green tops because these contain a lot of the flavour — then stand the leeks, green end down, in a jar or bowl of cold water for at least two hourse; this will release all the dirt and a quick final wash in more cold water should result in clean, gritfree vegetables. Leeks also retain a lot of water if they are boiled, so avoid this by draining them, green end down, in a colander for at least fifteen minutes after they have been boiled.
If you are a devotee of that great cold soup vichyssoise, then the time to make it is now. Vichyssoise is a paradox; it is essentially a summer soup to be served ice cold on hot summer evenings, and yet that is exactly the time of year when leeks, one of the main ingredients, are not readily available. So make the basis of the soup by cooking chopped leeks and diced potatoes with a little finely chopped onion in a little butter and then add some well-flavoured chicken stock, simmering until the vegetables are tender, and finally puree the vegetables. Cool and freeze the soup base: when the summer finally comes, thaw it, add cream, seasoning and chopped chives and whisk well to reconstitute the creamy texture essential to the dish.
Small, tender, cooked leeks make some of the best first courses. Merely cook and drain the leeks, marinate them while they are still warm in some vinaigrette dressing and then refrigerate until really well chilled.
Cover the cooked leeks with a sauce made by adding some thin slices of fennel and button mushrooms lightly cooked in oil to a small quantity of vinaigrette flavoured with a little fresh thyme; spread this mixture in a shallow dish with a mayonnaise made with lemon juice rather than vinegar and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper.
One of the best leek recipes I have ever made, however, (and I use them in aything from souffles to stews) was undoubtedly a leek pie which six people demolished in a very short time. I made some crisp pastry with eight ounces plain flour, two ounces ground almonds, one whole egg and enough cold water to bind. Two thirds of the pastry went to line a nine-inch flan case Which was then filled with two pounds of cleaned leeks, sliced and sauteed in butter until soft. On top of the leeks was a mixture of onequarter pint of cream and three beaten egg yolks seasoned with salt, pepper and a little ground nutmeg, and the remaining pastry was used to cover the pie and then brushed with a little beaten white of egg mixed with a pinch of salt.! baked the pie in a moderately hot oven (375F. Reg. 5) for about thirty minutes until brown and crisp and put a little melted butter through the air vent in the top before serving.
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