Leeks take centre stage

Leeks are something of an exception among the alliums: we think of them as a vegetable. While onions and garlic are relegated to the ranks of supporting-cast flavorings and rarely get the chance to take centre stage; leeks are a fully-paid-up vegetable, taking the lead in many recipes or able to give a tasty performance on their own.

They are extremely versatile. Steamed leeks are possible, and roasted leeks are good, if you baste them with oil to stop them drying out and let them take their time in the oven. The preparation method of choice, though, is to saute them; stir-fry them over a moderate heat, then reduce the heat, cover the pan and let them cook to tenderness. To sharpen their flavor, finish with a splash of balsamic or white wine vinegar. For something mellower, add any combination of white wine, cream, blue cheese and mustard.

Complementary tastes

Leeks go well with chicken, any kind of pork, fish and seafood. On the vegetarian front, obvious partners are potatoes, mushrooms and cheese, especially of the blue persuasion. Leeks also have an affinity with fair-weather vegetables which they shouldn’t, by rights, encounter: peas, beans, and the whole ratatouille line-up. A contraband shop-bought red pepper can transform a bowlful of leeks into something tasting of summer.

With the addition of cream and/or blue cheese, and perhaps chicken, ham, smoked salmon or mushrooms, sauteed leeks become the basis of a pie; top your leek mixture with mashed potato, or add a shortcrust or puff pastry lid. Alternatively, add leeks to a potato pie alongside fish, bacon or well-flavored Cheddar.

Potato dishes

The potato partnership is a fertile one; use leeks as a chunkier, mellower alternative to onions in potato cakes, Spanish omelet’s, bubble and squeak or colcannon. Saute leeks and (optionally) bacon; add wine, cream, mustard and seasoning, then layer this mixture with parboiled sliced potatoes, top the dish with creme fraiche and bake it in the oven. Use leeks simmered with cream and blue cheese as a filling for baked potatoes, or substitute sauteed shredded leeks for the chives in a potato salad.

Leeks and potatoes are also, of course, the makings of a classic cream soup. The other good (if unseasonal) soup combination is with peas, in a stock flavored with gammon and/or garlic and thickened with cream.

Serving suggestions

Leeks work well in a warm salad -or, for that matter, a cold one -and they also make a good relish. Saute shredded leeks, then stir in wholegrain mustard and white wine vinegar; or add brown sugar, orange juice, balsamic vinegar and sultanas and reduce the mixture to a chutney consistency.

Parboil leeks halved lengthways, cover them with a sauce made of creme fraiche and the cheese of your choice, and bake them in the oven. Use sauteed leeks as the basis of a creamy pasta sauce, add them to a risotto, perhaps alongside smoked fish and tarragon, or bake them into a quiche with Stilton, garlic and thyme, or with mushrooms and Gruyere. Or, if tonight is not the night to make leeks the main event, use them as a subtly flavored alternative wherever you might use onions – in soups, sauces, stuffings and so on. They accept relegation to the supporting cast with remarkably good grace.