We lovingly call them Dr. Seuss flowers.
No doubt he modeled his many floral varieties on this flowering onion plant: in large {Allium} and small {chives} versions, during the spring and early summer months you’ll find bright green stalks with purple pom-pom flowers exploding out of the top!
Today we’ll be telling you what we know about all of the members of the Allium (Onion) Family, including Leeks, Spring Onions, Green Onions or Scallions, Chives, Shallots, Garlic, and Yellow Onions. Watch our video to get a tutorial (featured below).
In it we cover the basic nutritional components: Leeks are full of Vitamin A and can in fact attribute to 1/3rd of your daily recommended intake. They are also a great prebiotic, filled with enzymes that help you digest the foods that you eat.
What’s not to love?
Well not much, except for that burning question: “What do I do with these things?” and maybe even “How do I avoid bad breath?”. We can’t necessarily answer that last one, but we’ll show you how to work with leeks, etc. in the recipes below. Check out our Creamy Onion Soup with Crispy Leeks, and get your Allium on.
For very little cost, pick up a bag of onions, some leeks, a nice sized bottle of olive oil and garlic + shallots and you’ll be in business.
Total cost?
About $1/serving! Make this tonight, or follow our meal plans and you’ll find it scattered throughout our six plans coming at you on Friday (that’s tomorrow)!
SOUP Creamy Onion
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 8-10 servings
You've made cream of...mushroom, asparagus, celery before maybe... but have you made Cream of Onion? It's super easy, very creamy and a perfect tableau for the Crispy Leeks to be artfully scattered across!
Ingredients
3 onions, chopped roughly
6 cloves garlic, left whole
4 Tbsp unsalted butter or olive oil
4 Tbsp flour or cornstarch
1/2-1 tsp salt and white pepper (black will do, too)
1 quart veggie broth, water, etc. *Can use more as needed to thin out soup to desired consistency
1-2 white potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 batch Crispy Leeks, recipe to follow *for garnish
Instructions
- In a large soup pot set over medium heat, cook onions and garlic in butter or olive oil for 5 minutes.
- Add flour or cornstarch and stir to coat evenly.
- Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
- Add broth, a little at a time, stirring well after each addition of liquid.
- Once you've added about 2 cups and the soup is smooth, add the rest of the liquid + potatoes and simmer until onions and potatoes are completely tender.
- Transfer to a blender, puree until smooth and serve topped with Crispy Leeks, see recipe below.
Courses soup
SIDE Crispy Leeks
These guys require very little work for what you get: homemade healthy, even Onion Rings that are crisp and melt-in-your-mouth delicious all at once. We are smitten and have not been able to keep our hands off of our test batches!!!
Ingredients
1-2 leeks, trimmed, washed thoroughly and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds (after slicing, you'll need to soak them in water to wash again if they are gritty)
4 cloves garlic, sliced thickly
1 shallot, peeled and left whole, then sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
2-4 Tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste (just a pinch or two of each will do!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment, foil or a Silpat.
- Add all ingredients by laying intact rounds flat and evenly spaced on the baking sheet.
- Drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
- Place in the oven for 30-45 minutes, or until the edges of each round are crisp and the centers are completely softened and translucent.
- Allow to sit on the counter to cool and continue drying out. Storing them in an airtight container too soon will cause them to lose their crisp quality.
Leave a Reply