Last Updated December 16th, 2020 at 12:51 pm by Lisa
Learn with Step-by-Step instructions to cut leeks for recipes. Tutorial on how to clean, trim, and slice leeks plus freezer storage tips for faster cooking!
Leeks are a mild wonderful vegetable, a "distant relative" to onions and garlic. Use them in place of regular onions in recipes. They're mild, sweet, and have a delicate flavor. Their vibrant light green color is so pretty in dishes!
Tips on Using Leeks:
2 large leeks or 3 medium yields about 2 cups (179g) of sliced leeks. Buy several leeks at once, clean, slice, and keep ready in the freezer for quick recipe preparation.
Most recipes call for the white and light green parts of the leeks, the dark green parts can be tougher, but can be used in your chicken stocks and broths. Take a look at my Chicken Stock recipe and use up leftover leeks.
Storing Leeks:After you buy leeks, refrigerate them unwashed in open plastic bags up to 1-2 weeks.
Freezing Leeks: Store clean and pre-sliced, in freezer zip lock bags for 3-4 months.
Freeze the clean, dark green leek pieces in a ziplock bag, and use to make homemade stocks or broth.
Why Clean Leeks?
Grown partly underground, leeks trap sand hidden inside. Soaking them in a bowl of cool water with a splash of vinegar cleans them well.
You will see the sand in the water, and you sure don't want that in your recipe!
Clean and Slice Leeks Step-by-Step:
Step 1: On a stable cutting board, trim the root end off and discard.
Next, remove 5 inches of the top green leaves, leaving the lighter green leek leaves (save for stocks!)
STEP 2: From the root end slice up through the leek leaving the top green end connected. This is so you can soak and begin to wash the dirt but not have leaves everywhere! STEP 3: Turn the leeks around in the water and use your hand to remove the dirt.
STEP 4: Once most of the dirt is removed slice all the way through so you have two halves.STEP 5: In a large bowl of clean cool water, rinse your leeks and change the water several times. STEP 6: Fan the leaves open under water to be sure they are clean. STEP 7: Once clean, move to a cutting board. Now slice all the way though the leeks, and slice into thin strips for your recipe.
A Couple Other Ways To Slice Leeks:
Julien Leeks: Take 3-4 layers from leek halves, then fold in half lengthwise, and slice into thin long pieces or strips.
Thinly Slice Leeks: Take clean leek halves pieces and start at one end and slice into ⅛ inch thick slices. You can then cut those strips into a finer dice if desired.
More Leek Recipes
- Potato Leek Soup by Once Upon A Chef
- 16 Easy Leek Recipes by Delish.com
- 20 Leek Recipes by Bon Appetit
Leeks take a little time to clean and prepare but are worth the flavor they bring to dishes and I love having them ready in my freezer-it makes cooking so relaxing.
All The Best Dishes,
Lisa
XO
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How To Cut Leeks
Materials
- 2 large leeks
Instructions
Clean and slicing leeks
- On a stable cutting board, trim the root end off and discard. Next, remove 5 inches of the top dark green leaves, leaving the lighter green leek leaves. (The dark part is tough but is great in chicken stocks and bone broths!)
- Then, from the root end slice up all the way through the leek but leave the top end connected, this is so you can soak and wash the dirt but not have leaves everywhere!
- Once most of the dirt is removed slice all the way through so you have two halves.
- In a large bowl of clean cool water, rinse the leek halves and change the water several times.
- Fan the leaves open under water to be sure they are clean. And keep changing the water until clear.
- Once clean, move to a cutting board. Now slice all the way though the leeks, and slice into thin strips for your recipe.
Storing leeks
- Press a clean towel on leeks to dry.
- Place clean sliced leeks in zip-top bags and store in freezer for 3-4 months.
Great to know you can freeze leeks. I love using them in quiche or egg dishes - such a sweet, yet mild taste, even better when caramelized. Now I won't have any grit!
Love that you broke this down and make it look so easy
I love fresh leeks! Thanks for this great post on how to get them squeaky clean.
Clean is definitely good when it comes to leeks! Someday soon, I will be sharing a recipe for potato leek soup that I learned from my Mom and it is good in the Winter (or can be served cold in the summer-vichyssoise soup) Thanks for stopping by Laura and for your comment.
Thank you for sharing! I don't usually buy leeks because the thought of cleaning them is overwhelming! Next time I'm at the store I'm grabbing some!