How To: Clean a Leek

I didn’t knowingly see a raw leek until I was 19 years old and in France for the first time. (Which is odd, because my French grandmother grew them in her front yard in California, and always put them in her amazing vegetable soup.) But somehow I never noticed them – and I think a lot of Americans are in the same boat.

Leeks are a member of the onion family and their flavor is more delicate, sweet and herbal. The white part is absolutely delicious sliced up and sauteed slowly in butter, but whole leeks make a great stand-in for Catalan calçots when they’re grilled and served with romesco sauce – the heart of the first Hedonism Eats dinner party ebook.

The only thing about leeks that isn’t totally dreamy is cleaning them. Sand and dirt tend to hide in between the outer layers, and you have to be careful to get it all out when you clean them. But once you know how to do that, you’re golden.

Here’s a video showing the technique I learned at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, which works even on the dirtiest leeks. The leek actor in this video was pretty gross, as you’ll see . . . but 100% sand-free when we ate him later.

---