When it comes to harvesting leeks, there is a fine line between leek envy and greed! Best you smile and be thankful for a brilliant harvest and get into full preserving mode!
Leeks take a while to grow so when they are ready, it’s all on! All of my leeks were on the cusp of going to flower so I harvested around 15 together, far too many to consume at once.
Remember that old saying: “eat what you can, can what you can’t”? Well, maybe you haven’t heard that before, but it was something my late grandmother lived by and the essence of ReDiscover. In this case, freezing is a more than adequate to keep those tasty leeks on hand for another day.
When to harvest leeks
Let’s get real. Homegrown leeks don’t necessarily look like the ones in the supermarket! The base of your leeks may be thick and yet others may not. Once the leeks have gone to seed however, the centre stem will thicken and sprout like a giant onion head. The stem will not only be bitter and difficult to cut through, it will ruin your leek.
To avoid any wastage, keep a watch for leek growth and harvest before the tell-tale centre sprout rears its pretty head.
Washing and Preparing Leeks for Freezing
Leeks can keep well in the fridge for about a week after harvesting. If you are planning to freeze them, the fresher you can freeze them the better.
By the pure nature of the way leeks grow, they do tend to collect a lot of dirt and grit between each layer of greenery, particularly in between the outside layers. When you are ready to cook or freeze, ‘top and tail’ by slicing off the roots right by the base and any green wildly leafy stalks. Wash the outside of the leek well under running water.
Slice the remainder of the stalk (all of the white and much of the green stalk – until you get to the dark green ‘tough’ leafy outer layers) and wash in a bowl of cold water. With your fingers, push through the rings, so all of the layers get a good wash. Drain, and allow to rest on a paper towel to absorb any excess water.
The jury is still out on whether leeks are OK to freeze fresh, or if they require blanching first. I’m going ‘a la natural’ with my methods and freezing fresh.
There are two ways you can freeze these delicious morsels of flavour:
Free-flow: spread your washed leek rings on a baking tray evenly without touching the others, and freeze. This is good if you want to put them all in one freezer bag and only take out a handful at a time when needed. This does involve time and freezer space.
Bag lots: because I have little of either (time and freeze space), I opted to bag my leek rings into snack-sized zip lock bags. While they may freeze together, I have handy usage serves at the ready.
How to use Frozen Leeks?
Frozen leeks are fabulous used in stew, casserole or slow cooker, pasta sauce, vegetarian lasagne layer, quiche and dips etc. Best cooked straight from frozen, rather than attempting to defrost unnecessarily.
