How to Prepare, Clean & Cook Fresh Leeks

It’s British Leek Season – Hurrah!

Did you know that today marks the start of the British leek season which runs all the way through to April?

Jolly good too because leeks are seriously one my favourite vegetables and not just in an accompaniment kind of a way.  For me leeks are a delicious and important main flavour in numerous dishes. I almost always have a leek about the place and I recommend you do the same!

To mark this auspicious occasion I have been asked to write a little about these delicious alliums together with one of my favourite recipes so do please read on.

Firstly and importantly leeks do tend to have a little grit and dirt between their leaves so here is a good way of washing them …

How to Prepare & Wash Leeks

The easiest way, I find, is to  top and tail the leek, run a knife along its edge and remove and discard the out edge. Split the leek in half lengthwise and then slice crosswise.  Put into a large bowl with PLENTY of cold water so that the sliced leek floats. Swirl about a bit, let the water calm down and then carefully lift the leeks out so that the soil and grit, which has sunk to the bottom, stays in the bottom where it belongs. Do not strain them.

Secondly here is a great way of cooking leeks which makes them sweet and tender and concentrates their flavour.

A Great Way to Cook Leeks

~   Heat a knob of butter (or olive oil or bacon fat) in a saucepan with a lid and toss and separate the washed and drained leeks in the fat to coat.

~   Sprinkle with a little salt.
~   Press something appropriate (a piece of foil, a piece of baking parchment, greaseproof paper or a butter wrapper) directly onto the leeks to cover completely. Try not to burn yourself on the side of the pan.

>~   Turn the heat down to low and put the lid on the pot; the leeks should not so much fry in the butter as gently steam in it.
~   Cook slowly until they are very tender – you can stir once or twice during this time and they should take about 20 minutes.

Leeks cooked this way are really useful being great in everything from soups (see here for my Leek & Potato Soup recipe plus a bit of a rant!) to lovely mashed potato, posh cheese on toast, Alfredo Sauce (for pasta and lots of other things), stirred through cooked peas and even in baked things such as scones or on pizza.  They are, however particularly good with seafood.  I often have them with salmon but a very delicious dish I ate in France a few years ago and then replicated at home is …

Breton Scallop & Leek Galettes

"Galettes" (Galettes de Sarrasin to use their full name) in Brittany refers to a particularly delicious (and, as a bonus, gluten free) type of crèpe made of buckwheat. They are light and crisp with a slightly nutty flavour. The galette recipe is below but if you haven’t got any buckwheat normal crèpes will stand in pretty well.

The main subject of this post is the scallop and leek filling – aha, we get to it at last!

Scallops in a Creamy Leek Sauce

Use either the little queen scallops or the larger ones, in which case slice them before cooking.

2 small leeks – cleaned and thinly sliced
30g butter
50ml dry white wine
150ml double cream
300g raw scallops
salt and pepper

~   Prepare and cook the leeks in the butter as above.
~   Add the wine or stock and allow to simmer for a minute or two.
~   Stir in the cream, bring to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer a few minutes.  Taste and season.
~   At this stage you could set the sauce aside to later.
~   To cook the scallops just reheat the sauce to boiling, turn down to a low simmer, add the scallops and leave on the heat just till the first bubble appears on the surface of the sauce. Set aside, covered, to finish cooking in the residual heat of the sauce. Scallops are very delicate chaps and any more cooking could toughen them.

Divide the creamy scallop and leek mixture between the hot pancakes, fold over the tops and enjoy.

Oh – I’ve just thought of another good leek idea; this is a fancy garnish I used to do a lot when cheffing …

Frazzled Leeks

Cut a leek into long thin strips, rub a little cornflour through them (this makes them crunchy) and deep fry for a few minutes till they are golden. Lift out of the oil with a skimmer and drain on kitchen roll. Sprinkle with a little crunchy sea salt.

Buckwheat Pancakes

This makes 4 large pancakes or more smaller ones, obviously!

100g buckwheat flour
pinch of salt
1 egg
300ml milk
50g butter – melted

~   Stir together the salt and the flour and make a well in the middle.
~   Break the egg into the well and start whisking it in gradually adding the milk till a batter the consistency of single cream is achieved.
~   Chill for a couple of hours then stir in the melted butter.
~   Proceed to make pancakes as per usual, ie. lightly grease a frying pan, bring to good heat and ladle in about 2 tablespoons of batter. 
~   Roll the pan to spread the batter thinly and cook till the underside is golden.
~   Turn with a deft flip of the wrist or more carefully with an implement.

So that's it from me but for lots more recipes, tips and info on British leeks go here.

http://www.britishleeks.co.uk/

How to Make All Sorts of Pancakes for Pancake Day (and the rest of the year!)

Here's a few suggestions for the big day and for throughout the year, of course!

French Style Crèpes

As we think of them now – they used to be the “normal” pancakes my Mummy used to make on Pancake Day! This makes approx. 6 depending on the size of your pan.

100g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 egg
300ml milk
50g butter – melted

~   Stir together the salt and the flour and make a well in the middle.
~   Break the egg into the well and start whisking it in gradually adding the milk till a batter the consistency of single cream is achieved.
~   Stir in the melted butter.
~   Lightly grease a frying pan, bring to good heat and ladle in about 2 tablespoons of batter.
~   Roll the pan to spread the batter thinly and cook till the underside is golden.
~   Turn with a deft flip of the wrist or more carefully with an implement.

Traditionally, of course, these are served sprinkled with sugar and lemon juice for Pancake Day but are good filled with all sorts of sweet or savoury fillings such as this one filled with sugary sautéed apples.

Lovely Alternative (gluten free - bonus!) Pancakes

These are a great alternative to the above crépes; they are crisp and nutty and good for you! Make them the same way as above replacing the flour with 100g buckwheat flour.  The only difference is that it is a good idea to chill the batter for an hour or two before stirring in the cooled melted butter and proceeding with the recipe.

Thick Fluffy American Style Pancakes

– makes about five 3" pancakes.

120g plain flour
pinch salt
1 tbsp sugar
a rounded teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
100ml milk
a little vegetable oil

~   Stir together the first 4 ingredients.
~   Male a well in the middle of the flour mixture.
~   Break the egg into the well.
~   Gently whisk the egg into the flour and, as it thickens, gradually add the milk, still whisking, till you have a thick but pourable batter.  This may or may not take all the milk, or might even need a tad more, depending on the make and age of the flour.
~   Heat a non stick frying pan and carefully, using a piece of paper towel, smear the surface with a little cooking oil.
~   When the pan is hot and greasy pour a 3" circle of batter in the pan and cook till the surface is pitted with burst bubble holes.
~   Flip or turn the pancake and cook till the other side is golden.

If, like me, you enjoy a crunchy contrast cook each pancake in a spoonful of hot oil (rather than in a lightly greased pan) and you will end up with crisp frazzled edges like these.

Serve immediately or keep in a warm oven till all are done so everyone can eat together.  Very often these are served with smoked bacon, maple syrup and butter but are good with all sorts of things.

Pancake Additions ...

When adding things such as fruit or nuts or chocolate do it this way ...

~   Pour the pancake batter into the pan.
~   Immediately sprinkle your addition evenly sprinkle over the surface. This means that whatever you have added won’t burn as the first side cooks.
~   Drizzle a little more batter over the additional ingredient.
~   Continue as usual.  

 Possibly Strange Pancake Variations

~   I have made this style of pancake with leftover porridge and they are very good indeed which is helpful for me as I dislike the texture of porridge and this helps me get my oats. 

~   Different liquid can be used instead of milk as in this Tomato Soup Pancake!

~     Flourless Banana Pancakes 

I haven’t tried these as I am bananaphobic but they sound like a good idea, this is what I understand you do. 

~   Mash up a large ripe banana.
~   Beat together 2 eggs.
~   Stir the eggs into the banana and make pancakes with the result.

If I did like bananas I would add a drop of vanilla extract.

Chinese Spring Onion Pancakes

These are really a kind of bread but I thought I’d just mention them as they have the “P” word in their title.  They are also known as Tsung yu Ping - recipe here.

Leftover Pancakes and Batter

If you are familiar with this blog you know how I hate to waste food and have even written a book on delicious ways to use up leftovers!

If you have a little leftover batter when making either of the above drizzle it into the pan and make yourself a Cook’s Treat.

Leftover Pancakes can be gently reheated in the pan you cooked them in or fried till crisp - read more about leftover pancakes here.

Delicious pancake topping ideas here.

And ...

Lots more pancake ideas on my Pinterest board ...

Pancake Day ~ and the rest of the year! 

Great Idea for Leftover Pancakes

Today is …

  

“  …the pinnacle for carrot lovers all around the world. It is the day when the carrot is celebrated through carrot parties and other carrot related festivities.”

carrotday.com

Yes, today's the day; International Carrot Day 2014 so I thought I’d write all sorts of interesting things about carrots, only … well I think I've already written almost everything I can think of! 

In my book Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers I give nine ideas for spare carrots including this piece of advice.

I have also blogged about delicious roasted carrots here where I give five more ideas including Carrot Vinaigrette with which I am particularly pleased.  

So despite today being such a biggie I’ve decided to tell you about what I did with a couple of leftover pancakes, the crèpe type.

You may remember that on Pancake Day (the UK one!) I recreated a wonderful meal I had eaten in France involving buckwheat galettes..  Well yesterday I had exactly the same meal again, Galettes de Sarrasin with a creamy scallop and leek filling. As my real man doesn't go for this sort of fancy cooking I had several pancakes left over.

Leftover Pancakes

I reheated a couple in a dry frying pan and had them with maple syrup, of course, for breakfast.

I then tried to recreate something else I ate in France - Oreillettes which I thought meant small ears but apparently means headset, ear flap, ear phone!  Not so whimsical and poetic and also a strange name for a traditional dish, but c'est la vie. This is what they looked like in France …

… and I took them to be deep fried pancakes which they are not. Mine are though!

Here's the recipe for real Oreillettes, which are an orange flower and citrus scented dough rolled thin and fried. I’ll give the real things a go soon.

My fried pancakes, however, worked out really well eaten whilst hot and crisp and sprinkled with sugar.  I still had a few scraps left so fried those as well and here they are on top of some Coffee Sorbet I had left in the freezer after writing my recent little ebook “Sorbets & Granitas” 

 A nice idea, I thought. It makes me wish I was still cheffing so I could surprise the punters!

In Other News

We Hate to Waste, a website in America dedicated to the no waste lifestyle with loads of interesting ideas and info (and I really am not just saying that) have done me the honour of featuring my book and my humble self on their blog . Have a look, even if you don’t read the bit about me I think you’ll enjoy browsing the site.