Gretta pulled this leek from her field last week. (The potatoes, onion and celeriac are from her CSA share.) I'm thinking of growing leeks next year, so I looked up some information. Leeks are another vegetable that do well very late into the cold weather. Along with kale, they are the most cold-tolerant of vegetables.
Different varieties of leeks are better adapted to cold weather. There are two basic types of leeks: summer types (long shanked—bulbless) and winter types (short shanked—slight bulbing). As a general rule, leeks with blue-green leaves tend to be more tolerant of the cold. If established in late summer they can overwinter through the frozen ground and snow pack of northern New England. In fact, the colder the temperature, the sweeter the taste. On the other end of the spectrum, they will endure, but are not particularly fond of temperatures consistently above 85˚F.
My version of the recipe:
3 T butter
2 1/2 C chopped leeks (2 small leeks), chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 C chopped celeriac
2 C roughly chopped potatoes (3 potatoes)
1 quart chicken stock
6 oz plain yogurt
salt and pepper
Melt butter in heavy soup pan, add leeks and onion. Saute until golden. Add potatoes, celeriac, stock. Cover, bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer until potatoes are soft (about 30 minutes). Roughly puree in food processor. Add yogurt, whisk. Season to taste.
