This week veggie box feature… Wild Leeks

It’s the season of green! In our gardens and boxes! 😘

It’s that wonderful time of year where we start seeing spring/summer vegetables appearing in our box that we haven’t seen since last year!

This week’s focus is on one of those, the flavourful wild leeks!

Wild Leeks are one of the first vegetables of springtime. They are a wild edible vegetable that have a garlicky delicious taste and are a great addition to spring menus.

Use wild leeks anywhere you’d use a leek, onion or scallion. They can be used raw or cooked – just cut off the spindly rooty things, give them a little wash and they are ready. From pesto sauces to pickling, or simply sauté them and add to pastas or fish, wild leeks can be used in a variety of springtime dishes. Here are some for you to try!

 

Recipes

 

Simple Wild Leek Pesto

Created By: Meghan Telpner

A simple wild leek pesto that makes the most of this fresh, wild spring food.

 

Ingredients:

2 cups packed wild leek leaves

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup cashews or sunflower seeds

sea salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Coarsely chop the leek leaves.

2. Heat 1 Tbsp of oil over medium heat and lightly sauté leeks. This is optional. You can also skip this step and keep them raw.

3. Add leeks, remaining oil, nuts/seeds of choice and salt into your high speed blender or food processor and process until well mixed but maintain some texture.

4.Transfer to a bowl and serve.

 

Wild Leek Soup

Created by: Meghan Telpner

A simple dairy-free creamy wild leek soup, perfect for lunch or dinner!

 

Ingredients:

2 great big handfuls of wild leeks, cleaned and coarsely chopped

1/2 head of cauliflower, coarsely chopped

1 sweet potato, coarsely chopped

2 stalks of celery, coarsely shopped

8 cups of water (to just cover vegetables)

sea salt and cayenne to taste

1/2 cup cashews (optional if you want a cream soup)

3–4 sprigs of dill

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, combine leeks, cauliflower, sweet potato, celery and about 8 cups of water and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

2. Transfer to blender (or use hand held blender), add in raw dill and optional cashews. Puree.

3. Enjoy!

 

Cheesy Wild Leek Frittata

Created by: Queen Bee Homestead

The perfect dish for a Spring Brunch!

 

Ingredients:

8 eggs

⅓ cup milk

½ tsp salt

½ cup mozzarella cheese plus extra for sprinkling on top

½ cup wild leek leaves roughly chopped

½ cup wild leek bulbs roughly chopped

2 TBSP butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. add wild leek bulbs and sauté until just beginning to brown. Turn off the heat.

3. Whisk together eggs, milk, and salt in a bowl. Add the wild leeks leaves and cheese and stir.

4. Pour egg mixture over the sauteed wild leeks in the skillet and top with cheese (about ¼ cup). Cook in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until cheese is browned and center is firm.

5. Allow to cool until egg pulls away from the skillet edge. Remove to a serving plate, if desired.

 

Wild Leek and Mushroom Sauté

Created By: Daily Meal

You can serve this mix on its own as a light spring supper, as an accompaniment to grilled meat or fish, as a side dish for a fluffy omelet, or on top of a bed of farro or couscous.

 

Ingredients:

10-12 wild leeks, root end trimmed and cleaned (use all parts – root bulb, stem and leaves, or use leaves as garnish)

1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, washed, woody ends discarded if necessary

3 TBSP olive oil

freshly ground pepper and coarse or sea salt, to taste

Instructions:

1. Slice the wild leeks and mushrooms into 1 1/2-inch pieces. 2. In a sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat.

3. Add the vegetables and toss frequently until they begin to caramelize. After 7 or 8 minutes, when they are just tender, place on a serving dish and let them stand for a few minutes before serving (they will continue to cook slightly before they begin to cool).

 

Wild Leek & Lemon Risotto

Created by: The Garden of Eating

Makes a delicious vegetarian meal or side dish for your favourite protein.

 

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of wild leeks (8-10), cleaned and trimmed with the roots

2 large shallots

2 TBSP olive oil or butter

7 cups organic chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups Arborio rice (risotto)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 TBSP lemon zest

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Separate the wild leek stalks from the greens and chop each, keeping them separate. Finely chop the shallots.

2. Heat the stock in a saucepan (you'll want to position this right behind whatever burner you plan to use for the risotto pan since you're going to be ladling stock into the pan continuously during the cooking process.) Cover the stock and leave it on low at a simmer (it will need to stay hot the entire time you're cooking the risotto.)

3. In a large, heavy bottomed pan (there are special risotto pans but although nice, they're not necessary) melt the butter and cook the onion on medium-low heat until softened, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the rice and stir to coat all the grains with butter. Sauté the rice for 2-3 minutes until the rice becomes chalky and you can see a white dot in the center of each grain. Then add the wine and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until it's been absorbed.

5. Now the fun begins (by the end of this, your arm will be very tired!) Add one cup of the hot stock to the pan and stir until it has all been absorbed by the rice - if you don't stir and cook until the liquid is absorbed with each addition, the rice will get very gummy).

6. Continue to add stock, one cup at a time, stirring constantly until the rice has absorbed the liquid and starts to seem dry before adding more stock. Once you've added 6 cups of the stock, you should start adding 1/2 cup at a time. Keep doing this until the rice is cooked through but still a little al dente, about 30 minutes total (you may not end up using all of the stock but it should be pretty close -- if you run out of stock, you can substitute hot water towards the end.)

7. Turn off the heat, add the chopped wild leek greens, lemon zest, and Parmesan cheese, mix well to incorporate, then season with salt (if needed) and freshly ground black pepper, and serve.

 

 

Friendly Reminder: Looking for additional inspiration? ALL recipes from the past two years are available on the blog for reference. 😊