how to clean & prep leeks

 

Trim each leek by removing its rootsy end.

 

And its dark green leaves, keeping only the light green part of the vegetable.

 

With a sharp knife, lightly slice along the length of the leek and remove the first two outer layers and discard.

 

Cut each leek in half lengthwise.

 

You don’t have to do this. You can just keep the rounds. But then you need to separate all the layers within each round by hand because there will be dirt stuck in between all the layers and they rarely come apart on their own.

Then slice them vertically to create lots of little crescents.

 

Place them in a large bowl of water to remove any dirt.

 

You’ll be amazed to see how much you find at the bottom of the bowl once you take the leek pieces out! I mean, a close up of a leek and you can see what a dirty fellow it is!

 

With your hands, remove them from the water and place them in a colander to drain.

 

I don’t like to just pour them in because the dirt at the bottom of the bowl will then also get poured on the now clean leek pieces. Sure you can rinse them with a sprayer, but you’re never really sure if you managed to rinse all the dirt away.

Allow the leeks to drain until  you are ready to use them.