My Love Affair With Leeks

I suppose it started when I was living in Munich and my Mom, on one of the few true warm summer days, would whip up a batch of vichychoisse for us to eat at lunch.  It was thick with potatoes and leeks, and there was always a sprinkling of fresh chives on top. I remember frequently having two bowls.

Who knew that 30 years later, I would find myself growing leeks up at an old farm house, so that I, too, could make batches of vichychoisse!

I only planted a few leeks this past summer not knowing how many of them would survive  but every single one of the leeks I planted made it!  I started digging them up a few weeks ago, and they were absolutely the biggest and prettiest leeks I had ever seen.

Lovely Leeks

Since leeks are fairly expensive (think $3 a stalk) in my supermarket (if they even have them at all), I was pretty pleased I was able to grow this vegetable on the Red House property. I started thinking of some of my favorite leek dishes. They are:

Carmelized leek and goat cheese pizza

Leek and swiss cheese omelettes

Macaroni and cheese with sauteed leeks

Roasted chicken smothered with leeks

Salmon with leeks and cream

And finally my own “warm” version of vichychoisse — an awesome potato and leek soup with freshly snipped chives. This tasted especially yummy a few weeks ago after a 5.5 hour drive up to the house with a thermostat inside that said it was 59 degrees! (And 44 degrees outside!)

Warm Potato and Leek Soup

Oh yeah, and since I’m trying to convince VW to make me their spokesperson since I love my TDI (when I get to drive it that is…I have a teenage daughter), I sent them this shot of our other VW.  I am still waiting to hear from them…

Leeks on VW