Leeks Are Awesome
Posted by terrepruitt on February 16, 2012
If you’ve read a few of my “recipes” you have probably figured out one of my go-to meals is ground turkey. It is so easy to cook with and to make into almost anything, using any flavor. I cook it with whatever vegetable I have around or new one I want to experiment with. I usually start by sauteing an onion then I add food accordingly. I find that most of the time I need to cook at least one of the veggies first. I feel some vegetables need to be cooked more than turkey, like mushrooms. But broccoli is one that gets added when the turkey is almost cooked. My latest veggie to add to my turkey is a leek. I was in Campbell this weekend signing the studio contract where I am going to have my new evening Nia Class and the city of Campbell has a great farmer’s market. While I was walking down the aisle I saw leeks and I thought, “I should add that to the turkey.” 
So I bought one. I have never cooked with a leek before. I was thinking I would saute a little bit of onion then put the leek in then saute it then add the turkey. But when I chopped up the leek it smelled so onion-y I decided I didn’t need to use an onion. I mean leeks do belong to the same family as onion and garlic. After cooking the turkey until it was almost done, I added some broccoli. When the broccoli was almost done I added a couple of tablespoons of whipped cream cheese with chives. The leeks have such a great flavor I loved them. I am going to cook with them more often.
According to WHFoods vegetables in the same family as leeks, such as onions and garlic supply their nutrients better if they sit for about 5 minutes after cutting before cooking. Furthermore since they all belong to the same family leeks have many of the same health benefits.
Leeks have a lot (over 50% of the daily value) vitamin K. They also have a large quantity of vitamin A. They contain vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), and vitamin B9 (folic acid). They also have a flavanoid shown in research to help protect our blood vessel linings from damage. Leeks also contain compouds that convert to allicin and this has been shown to help relax blood vessels by producing of nitric oxide (NO). With all this good stuff they do for our blood vessels it seems logical they will add to cardiovascular health.
Since leeks are so onion-y for me it will be easy to include them in our diet either cooked right into our food to add an additional layer of flavor and nutrition or even chopped and raw. We can add them to our kale salads or throw them in with our quinoa. I am definitely going to add them in my soups. I think the more vegetables I add to our soups the better.
I really was impressed with the flavor that the leeks add to this dish. I thought they were amazing!
(I took this picture to post to Streamzoo just to show our dinner fixings. I didn’t know I was going to post about leeks until I tasted them and loved them. the leeks are the green things chopped up on the right.)
Do you include leeks in your diet? How? Do you cook them? Do you eat them raw?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
Julia Williams said
I can’t recall if I’ve ever cooked with leeks before, but if I have it’s been a long time ago! I love onions and garlic, so I might just try cooking it the way you did — although I tend to like my broccoli more on the cooked side. Also, I like the broccoli stems much more than the head — I wish I could buy just the stems, lol.
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terrepruitt said
Putting the veggies in the pan according to the way or how much you like them cooked is the key. So if you like a veggie more cooked add it either before the meat or before the meat is almost done, right? For me it is kind of a trial and error thing. And sometimes I get it wrong. But I can eat the veggie more cooked, I just prefer some “less cooked”.
I’ve had this dish left over and it is even BETTER. The flavor of the leeks just seem to get better and better. I can’t wait to buy more and experiment with putting them in different things.
If we lived close to each other we could exchange stems for flowerets!
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Michele said
“leeks are awesome” I love that title! It has been awhile since I have had them…can’t recall what I cooked with them even but now I will have to get some – I do recall many years ago Dave grilled them on the BBQ. You should have a cooking blog, I love all your ideas and nutritional information!!
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terrepruitt said
Ooooh. I bet that was awesome – grilled leeks! Yum! They have an onion-y flavor, but not as strong so that would be yummy. I am going to start using them more.
I think doing a cooking blog that was strictly cooking would probably make me have writer’s block. Right now, although it might be willy-nilly at least on here I can post healthy recipes, health information, tips, exercises, happy thoughts, whatever . . . . it is still sometimes a challenge but since I do go by the “my blog, my rules” I can do what I want.
Thank you soooooo much for checking it out. I might have to do a SAD post, huh? XOXO
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Michele said
Yes your blog as is, is perfect…boy SAD truly hit me by surprise today, I have been such a trooper up til now – so a SAD post with helpful tips, YES, please!!
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terrepruitt said
And YOU should be the one to have a cooking blog. You are the one that tries all different kinds of recipes AND feeds kids. I make the same thing over and over. 🙂
A SAD post with helpful tips. Exactly.
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Michele said
Don’t want to commit to blogging right now but a cooking blog would probably help me to be more focused on meal planning which is always an elusive goal for me!!
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terrepruitt said
I think that THINKING of what to cook is the most difficult part. Once you know what to cook it easy, just do it. But it is the thinking, planning, and shopping that is such a drag. The other day when hubby was going to make dinner he was asking me what we needed. I was thinking, “NOOOOOO! That is part of making dinner! You figure it out!” Sigh!
It seems to me now would be a great time since your commitments are still so few. Pretty soon you’ll be back to the busy schedule! I would read it if you did! XOXO
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Michele said
I agree with you, the actual cooking is the fun part! The, everyday “oh no it is 4:00, what’s for dinner is a drag!” This is getting very skinny!
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terrepruitt said
I don’t see the comments as you do, so it took me a second to figure out what you meant. I see in my admin page as full screen. I like that it is getting narrow! That is cool. I love blog conversations.
Since I think that figuring out what to cook is a chore, that is why I cook the same thing a lot. I really LOVE ground turkey with whatever. It is soooooooooooooooo easy. As long as I remember to take out the turkey to defrost. Don’t like to use the microwave to defrost.
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terrepruitt said
Leeks and collard greens tonight. It was nice. The leeks helped mellow the collard greens. And I used just a splash of Mission Fig Vinegar. YUM!
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niachick said
We love leeks. Frank makes an awesome tomato leek soup. Yum. Thanks for your food blogs (and all your blogs)!!!
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terrepruitt said
I have always heard of leek soup. I am sure it is awesome. Does Frank have a recipe? Maybe he would share it. I bet it is FANTASTIC. I just bought some more leeks today. We went to the Farmer’s Market again in Campbell (a city that has a great Farmer’s Market).
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