leeks

i had no idea! thanks for the info all of you. they look so tough and inedible to me. i guess i'll settle down and eat my humble pie with leek greens from now on...

I also do the stock thing, but leek greans have multiple wonderful uses! Sauteed on top of soups, as Sam1148 says. Similarly, they can be added to a nice summery ratatouille. But they also make a great addition to a frittata of the type Amanda made this week, a fabulous in a vegetable quiche, and, blanched, are wonderful in potato or corn summer salads. Enjoy those greens!

Quick recipe here for using Green parts of leeks.

Remember the Shaite on a Shingle stuff? Using dried beef?

Here's a tech to upscale it.

One Leek cleaned with green and white parts chopped and separated.
A few slices of prosciutto ham...chopped.

Sautee the ham and white parts together a few mins.
Add the green parts of the leek.
Add some oil and a touch of flour. Cook about 1 min. Add cream or milk, stir and cook until thick. Season with black pepper and adjust salt if needed.
Serve over toast, english muffins or toasted Ciabatta bread.

Some stores have bins where you can remove the unwanted parts before weighing.
I keep that for cabbage because as maincook61 says, it's a wrapping.

The only produce I don't like pre-trimmed are carrots with the bushy parts attached, as they tend to wick away moisture from the carrots and they dry and split quickly.

Why is cabbage sold with its coarser outer leaves? Why is some lettuce sold with the tougher outside leaves? There are lots of examples. Think of this as a kind of free wrapping that keeps the part you want from browning/shriveling/collecting dirt, with the added benefit, as pointed out by others, of stock material.

I agree with the others about chopping off the green tops and throwing them in a ziploc bag in the freezer for stocks. If you live near a Trader Joes, they sell pre-washed, topless leeks that are recipe ready, offering you the white and light green your looking for.

I like the green parts. Sauteed they make a great garnish for soups. They also add nice bright green color to blended sauces.

I use them for stock too. But if they cut them off, they'd just charge more per pound. I prefer to get the whole veg when I can. I do eat beet tops, for instance, but not carrot tops, but I still like the whole thing. I just chop them off. Leeks are really large though.

I certainly understand how you feel but you can freeze them and then use them when making vegetable or even chicken stock.