by Leslie Cox; Monday; December 12, 2016

Nothing like a hot bowl of soup on a cold day…or even on especially wet days. Warms from the inside out…exactly what the body needs this time of year.

Sadie having a snow rompWe are soup fanatics in this family. One or two recipes are factored into the weekly menu plan on a regular basis. Especially when the temperatures dip below stellar gardening weather…or it is too freaking wet to spend any more time outside than it takes to give the dog a decent walk.

Often we have no sooner polished off one pot of soup when another is simmering on the stove. Most recently, a double batch of Curried Cauliflower quickly followed by Potato Leek…a hot version of the famed Creme Vichyssoise Glacee once served at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York back in the early 1900s.

The leek, or more specifically, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum, is related to onions, garlic, scallions and shallots. It looks exactly like a large green onion except for its flat, folded leaves instead of the more typical round leaves of other onion species.

When it comes to cooking, however, it is the white stem portion of the leek that is used in most culinary dishes. The large blue-green leaves which grow in a fan-like sheaf atop the stem are indeed edible as well, but are usually tossed.

Waste not, want not in my kitchen…so the leaves of my leeks are sliced up for the Potato Leek soup pot too. They add colour to an otherwise drab, frosty-white, cream soup. Besides…who knows if leek leaves were not included in recipes once upon a time?

LeeksLeeks have a very long history. Native to Central Asia, there is evidence dating back to the Bronze Age indicating wild leeks were eaten as food. Archaeologists believe they became a domesticated crop somewhere around 2000 BC based on unearthed artifacts from the time of the Pharaohs and building of the pyramids.

Sometime around 600 AD, Phoenician traders introduced this vegetable to the British Isles where it eventually became so popular in Wales, they made the leek their national emblem. The leek is also prominently displayed on the cap badge of the Welsh Guards, a division in the British Army. Revered status for a lowly vegetable…and a mildly flavoured one at that.

Used extensively in European cuisine, leeks are really not all that common in kitchens on the western side of the Atlantic Ocean. Trust me. You do not know what you are missing. It is a wholesome vegetable that should be on everyone’s menu. And easy to grow!

Leek varieties are divided by maturity dates into four different categories.

  • Early season varieties mature in 50-80 days
  • Mid-season varieties mature in 90-110 days
  • Late season varieties mature in 120-140 days
  • Extra-late season varieties mature in 150-180 days

Leeks are not bothered by many pests although they may get hit by onion thrips in a dry season. One or two blasts from the hose should help rid these guys. Powdery mildew may also be an issue if leeks are planted too close together. Increasing spacing to allow adequate air flow between the plants helps with this fungus.

Incidentally, early physicians used leeks to cure nosebleeds and sore throats. Nowadays, research is revealing exactly how healthy this vegetable is for us. Packed with Vitamin A, B6, C, E, K, manganese, copper, calcium, iron, folate, omega-3 fats and fibre, one would be remiss in not introducing a leek into one or two dishes on the weekly menu plan. Especially as we enter the season for colds and flu.

My Potato Leek Soup recipe is posted in “Recipes from Garden to Table” under the “In the Garden” menu button. (You can also follow the quick link here.) Enjoy!