As you can see, leeks aren't the cleanest vegetables around! Not only do their roots hold dirt like Fort Knox, but grit drifts in from above and gets wedged between the oniony layers.
Before using them in recipes like yesterday's Arugula Vichyssoise or the amazing leek mat that Jill made for the smoked fish she served at her wedding, we need to clean them thoroughly if we want to avoid eating more minerals than we intended!
Here's how!
First, cut a quarter inch or so off the bottom of the leek, removing the roots completely.
Next, cut off the upper, dark green part of the leaves where they start to unfurl from the leek. These are too fibrous to eat, but they can be used to flavor soups and stocks.
The light green and white portion that remains is the edible part of the leek. Cut this in half lengthwise.
Rinse each half under cool, running water. Use your fingers to flex the leek and rinse between the layers while still keeping the layers relatively intact.
Once you've washed away all the grit, you can continue chopping the leek as directed in the recipe.
Since the leek is usually going into a soup or stir-fry, don't worry about drying it before cooking. If a recipe requires dry leaks for some reason, you can run it through a salad spinner or press it between kitchen towels after chopping it into pieces.
Related: How to Dice an Onion
(Image credit: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)
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I usually dice the leeks up first and then place them in a colander under running water while separating all the parts with my fingers and sloshing them around thoroughly but this technique would be better if I wanted to keep them intact for roasting or grilling.
view Lenny's profile
Awesome. These kind of cooking tips are exactly why I read this site! So I don't have to keep calling up my mom on sunday nights with seemingly ridiculous questions about how to cook things.
view FromTheFuture's profile
The problem with cutting them first (found out the hard way) is that you'll dull your knife (or worse) by running it through the gritty dirt in the leek.
view roseslaw's profile
thanks--I just chopped a bunch of leeks for the zuchinni vichyssoise (yummy!) in my usual haphazard manner. I'll use this next time.
view jen_g's profile
I use a salad spinner to get rid of the excess water.
view twosavoie's profile
Wow. I've never seen a dirty leek :(
The ones in the supermarket are cleaned and trimmed. I bet I pay extra for that too.
I think I'd rather be able to do it myself and save some money.
view buda's profile
For leeks, I chop them up and then place them in a big bowl of cool water and let them sit for about 5 minutes. The grit and dirt falls to the bottom of the bowl and I just use a spoon (with holes) to remove the leeks.
view adelaide's profile