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Boiling of Leeks
Leeks are generally used in soups, etc. If served alone, take them when very young, trim off the root, the outer leaves, and the green ends, and cut the stalks in six-inch lengths. Tie them in bundles, put them into boiling water, with 1 dessertspoonful of salt, and 1 tablespoonful of vinegar, and let them boil until quite tender. Drain them, and serve like asparagus, on hot toast, pouring white sauce or melted butter over them. Time to boil, three-quarters of an hour.
A straightforward Victorian treatment of leeks as a vegetable in their own right, served asparagus-style on toast. Only the boiling time really needs revisiting.
- The timingThree-quarters of an hour will reduce trimmed young leeks to grey threads. Six-inch lengths of slim leek are tender in 6-10 minutes in salted boiling water; thicker ones, halved lengthwise, in 10-15. Test with a knife tip at the thickest part of the white.
- GritThe recipe does not mention washing, and leeks are the dirtiest vegetable in the garden. Split thick stalks lengthwise and fan the layers under running water before tying, or grit will end up in the sauce.
- MeasuresA dessertspoonful is about 2 teaspoons; a tablespoonful about 3 teaspoons (roughly 15 ml), though period spoons were not standardised. Both go into the cooking water, not the sauce.
- Why the vinegarA little acid in the water helps keep pale vegetables from dulling, and appears in other recipes of the kind. It works, but keep it to the stated tablespoon per pot -- more acid slows softening, and the leeks turn firm and sour rather than sweet.
- Tying in bundlesKitchen string around each bundle keeps the lengths intact and lets you lift them out whole. Drain them upright in a colander or on a folded towel; leeks hold a surprising amount of water and will soak the toast otherwise.
- The sauce"White sauce" here means a plain béchamel -- butter, flour, milk, seasoning. Melted butter in this period often meant a thickened butter sauce rather than simply liquid butter, so either reading is faithful.
- YieldAllow two to three medium leeks per person as a side, one thick slice of toast each. Season the drained leeks before saucing; they take salt poorly once the sauce is on.