#102 Gedünstetes Lauchgemüse

I doubt if I was the last person in America who has never tried Leeks. Whenever I go to the produce section at the grocery stores, I see it all the time, with only a few displayed which tells me that it's not very popular. So for 6 years, I would look at this giant green onion and picked broccoli instead then walk away. I've planned to cook it many times, I found several recipes but I've always put it in the back burner because it was always very intimidating. Last week, I decided it was time to stop ignoring this aristocratic onion.  I actually included it in my grocery list and finally, I took home two giant stalks. What made me buy Leeks is a german dish that looked so good, called Gedünstetes Lauchgemüse, which translates to Braised Leeks. For the first time, I cleaned, cut, and braised this surprisingly delicious vegetable. And of course, it does taste like mild and gently sweet green onions or scallions. This recipe has ground nutmeg-it's flavor strongly comes out after cooking. I like it, but if you don't like an overpowering taste of nutmeg, I recommend decreasing the amount of the spice. Since I cooked all two stalks, I am not sure what raw Leeks taste like, which I learned that it can be eaten as a salad too. I will find out next time. :)

Yield: 4 servings

Gedünstetes Lauchgemüse

Ingredients:

2 pounds young tender leeks

1 1/2 cups water

juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

ground peppercorn medley (such as McCormick's), to taste

Directions:

1. Trim leeks and clean, pictures shown below.
2. Cut leeks into 3 pieces.
3. Cook gently over low heat in water, lemon and salt.
4. In a small bowl, combine flour and milk, stir into saucepan, let cook while stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened.
5. Season with white pepper or ground peppercorn medley and nutmeg.

In Germany, Gedünstetes Lauchgemüse, is a popular winter vegetable dish served  as a side dish to go with meats. Ground nutmeg adds a wonderful flavor to it.

According to history, the leek was the favorite vegetable of the Emperor Nero, who ate it in soup or in oil. It is also one of the the national emblems of Wales, it appears on the  cap badge of the Welsh Army. On St. David's Day, a symbol with  leeks and daffodil  is worn.

HOW I CLEANED & CUT THE  LEEKS

• I removed the dark upper green leaves.
• Slit the leeks open lengthwise, then separated each leaf.
• I washed the leeks thoroughly, and made sure I separate each leaf because it was DIRTY inside.
• Then I put it all back together and cut each leek to about 2 inches long.

 

 

It was a very good first time experience with Leeks.

 We have discovered many more recipes. Coming soon!