Maybe I'll just make some vegetable stock and use that when I make vichyssoise. I have some leafy celery I could add to that stock.

Any greens are good for you. Some more palatable than others. Leek greens are tough and fibrous, not good for anything you want to have a nice mouth feel with. However, they do impart a very nice subtle flavor. I boil mine, strain, and use in soup - mostly veg so there are other things going on. It doesn't take much to boil them, like a lot of other things that aren't quite worth dealing with that I toss like carrot peels and nib ends of citrus.

I use them in vegetable stock. They go into the freezer if I don't want to make stock right away. Like Floral, I use the lower parts for eating. Steam, boil, or saute a few and see how much of the leaf is tender enough to suit you. I often include the lower parts in soups.

Your idea of making a powder with them sounds promising, too. I may give that a try.

Leek green pesto is wonderful.

dcarch

Well, the few times I have used leeks at all I found them to be so sandy and such a pain to clean before using them that I do not think they are worth the effort at all. I have eaten the green parts in a bubble and squeak type preparation and also in risotto,which I did not think was a good idea.

If you are set on using them, I vote for stock.

I LOVE leeks,….we grow them in the garden each year. i use as much of the leek that is tender. I saute and use in pasta, risotto, scrambled eggs,…anything that I can think of that needs just a slight oniony flavor. When I have too many at once, I blanch and freeze for later Love them!

I cut off a piece of leek green to taste, and I did not find it fibrous at all. I think I will chop them and put them in a salad.

The fibrosity increases with size. I put them in green stock (vegan, heavy in the greens, but also aromatics and roots (only yellow or white if carrots) and lots of tops, like carrot, turnip, etc.)

Cook them very gently in butter and a drop of water and seasoning for a very long time, finely sliced. You will end up with a fondue de poireaux which is a delicious bed for scallops, other fish, with grilled meat...... As Flora says, the very ends are too tough but don't throw away the majority.

Leeks are not hard to clean if you split them up the middle or cut into rings and immerse in water for a few minutes. Thereafter sloosh them around, rinse and use. The smaller you cut them the easier and quicker they are to clean. They're are an indispensable winter vegetable for us. And don't forget pencil thin baby leeks as a salad in vinaigrette.

Eggs and cooked leeks tops are a great combination. I was shown a dish with boiled/steamed leaks (after just removing the ends per Flora/Islay and then splitting down the center to rinse between the layers), you arrange them in a nest. Put a half cut egg in the center of the next (medium cooked). Top with a simple vinaigrette of shallots, balsamic and olive oil, plus some s&p. You can add a dollop/piping of mayonnaise on top (just a teaspoon or less). Easy and the flavor is surprising.

Add when making stock

Leek powder. I mix it with other herbs and use it to season breadcrumbs, meats, poultry, soups and stews

Leek Pesto

Sliver paper thin and add to stir fry

I found the leek ends not to be tough at all, and we ate them in the salad. The part closer to the bulb seemed tougher to me than the tips. At any rate, I will definitely be eating them instead of throwing them away.

I don't think I'll have enough to bother making leek powder at this time - I like the idea of having them with eggs. I also really like the flavor of them.

It probably depends on how big the leeks are and how much leaf has been left on. At this point in the season the ones I get are pretty thick, no more than two to a pound, and the ends of the greens are tough cooked, let alone in a salad.

The leeks in the grocery stores here often have the ends cut down.

At the farmers' market, the ends are not cut down at all. What I got was great in the salad. Also, the leeks were a bit on the small side, and so I wanted to use more of them, as the white part was rather small. We got to the market rather late in the day (around 11:00 am), and so the larger ones may have already been sold.

Okay, for the leeks we get (there are different varieties), there's a long part of the green part which is striated, crisp and oniony and tender and perfectly suitable to use just as you would the whites other than for color or "special". Father up the stalk, the green is almost leathery, bitter but not much other flavor, solid and thick. That's the part that goes into the stock. :)

That does not sound like what I have. The tips that I have are not bitter, and they taste great in a salad. Nothing is striated either, and no part of them is leathery. I think this might have to do with the age of the leeks. Mine are probably younger than what you are used to.

I grow leeks yearly and use them a lot. This year they did especially well, so I dehydrated a lot, two half gallon jars full after dehydration. I often just toss a handful into soup or rehydrate for stir fry or other recipes. The tops I save for stock, they go into chicken and beef stock. I try not to let mine get too big, and they have a nice long white shank. Variety is Lancelot.

I use them in a lot of things, but this is one of my favorite recipes is from Ottoenghi. The recipe calls for spinach, but my garden had kale so I used that.

https://www.thekitchn.com/ottolenghi-braised-eggs-with-leek-and-zaatar-review-261982

Annie

Lars, it's possible they were just super young and tender, but I've often gotten very young leeks. In Annie's picture, there's the striated green part for several inches past the white, and you can see the heavier dark green part in the back one. Even at its most young and tender, I find the tops too thick and bitter to eat, but I understand that you might have a different feeling about them. I was just trying to make sure we were all talking about the same parts, not arguing about how they should be eaten.

Y'all should try growing your own leeks. They are hardy, make the most lovely flower heads, and reseed readily. Taste from your own garden is so much better. Trust me.

They must be young. On a full grown leek, you can't eat the dark ends in salad. Too tough!

I think they were young because there was not much white in them - much less than in Annie's photo. The dark ends tasted very good in the salad and were not bitter.

Tonight I made some potato soup and used one of them. First I sautéed half of a regular onion in butter and olive oil for a couple of minutes, added the bottom part of the leek, and sautéed that for a bit, and then I added stock, potatoes, black pepper, celery, and the green part of the leek. I was going to add thyme, but I forgot.

I served this when the potatoes were done, and the green part of the leek tasted very sweet and was soft. I used all of the green part, to the very tip.

I would consider growing leeks if I stayed in one place long enough, but I am quite happy with what I get from the farmers' market.