Things I think about while chopping leeks

[pallas_athena]

In honour of the Valerie Plame trial, I'm making leek-and-potato soup.

This is pretty easy. 2 leeks, 2 big white potatoes, some vegetable or chicken stock and one big pot. Cut off the tough green parts of the leek, cut them in half lengthwise, and wash the grit out. Then cut off the root ends and chop them into little pieces. Sauté them in a little oil til they're soft but not brown. Chop the potatoes and add those, plus enough stock to cover (about 4 cups US.) Cover and let simmer for about half an hour, or until the potatoes are soft. Mash with a potato masher. Eat. (This goes well with a toasted onion bagel and some feta cheese.)

While chopping leeks I had the following thoughts:

Why do leeks not make you cry when onions do?

Leeks are a major motif in Shakespeare's Henry V. Directors tend to cut the St David's Day scene where Fluellen forces Pistol to eat a raw leek, though it's one of my favourites.

Backstage at the Folger Theatre in DC is a piece of graffiti that says EAT MY LEEK! It may possibly date from the production of Henry V which was the first Shakespeare I ever saw. (I think I was nine?) The director was brave and did not cut the leek-eating scene.

Henry V was also the inaugural performance at the replica Shakespeare's Globe in London. I paid £5 for a "groundling" spot standing in the yard. I remember the sun on the timbers, and the sound of drums, and tears in my eyes as I stood there. Those close to the stage got bits of chewed-up leek spat into their hair (since that director, too, was brave and did not cut the leek-eating scene.)

The Czech word for "leek" is porek.

When is St David's Day, anyway?

These were my thoughts. Look at that, my soup's almost ready. Have a good Saturday, everyone!

Comments

[mothninja.livejournal.com]

Eenterestingly, given the Czech word, the Italian for leek is 'porro', or plural 'porri' -- and the Swedish is a joyous hybrid of the two etymological lines, and calls it a 'purjo lök'.

I love languages. And soup.

[artnouveauho.livejournal.com]

oooh-- we could put all the words for "leek" into a big pot and stir them around a bit; I bet the results would be tasty.

(adds "purjo lök" to mental lexicon of Swedish words)

(challenges Death to a rematch at chess)

[laughingmagpie.livejournal.com]

I always feel like I'm wasting too much of the leeks that I buy - how do you figure out what to cut off? Is it all the green? Or is there a part of the green that is tough?

I get very fussy about working with onions and garlic - I hate touching them. I can smell them for days. But leeks are much nicer.

And I also wanted to say I could totally picture your day at the Globe - sounds magical.

[artnouveauho.livejournal.com]

I tend to use the white and light-green parts of a leek, and cut them off where they turn darker green and start to look "leafy." Don't know whether that's right or wrong, but it's what I've always done.

Sometimes lemon juice can help get onion/garlic/fish smells off your hands. But this all sounds like a good reason to cook with friends and make the friends do the onions.

The Globe is indeed a magical place, and I've seen some excellent productions there. If you ever come to London, do go! (You've been here before, though, right?)

[speedlime.livejournal.com]

Yum! That recipe sounds delish-- and relatively WW-friendly. I'm going to make some this weekend.

When I lived in Prague, one of my favorite lazy-ass meals was instant leek soup (porickova, with that unpronounceable "rzh") with that thick brown sourdough bread they have there, toasted and buttered, because dipping buttered toast into creamy soup is THE ultimate comfort-food overload. Man, I miss that bread. Julius Meinl, where are you when we need you!

[artnouveauho.livejournal.com]

Oooh, let me know how your soup turns out! I put oregano and thyme in mine, just because that's what I had growing. Like all potatoey things, it benefits from salt and pepper.

Mmmmmmmm, Czech bread.