12 Thanksgiving Onion, Leek, and Shallot Recipes for Layers of Flavor (2024)

FAQs

Are leeks and shallots good together? ›

This is a great way to spin out the flavour of a couple of leeks. Roasting them with garlic and shallots results in a flavousome, slightly caramelised side dish.

Sweet or White Onions

Sweet onions are better suited to dishes that require cooked leeks. Due to their high sugar content, they caramelize well, making them perfect for roasting or sautéing. As a general rule of thumb substitute one large leek with one medium onion in any recipe.

Leeks are the mildest of the onion family and really shine when they're cooked, offering a lovely subtlety to dishes and a delicate, melty texture. Typically, the white and light green parts are consumed, while the dark green tops are left out, being full of fibers and hard to chew.

A fresh and light combination of sauteed onions, leeks and peas is one that is guaranteed to add a nice touch of green to your plate. A healthy side dish, packed with simple ingredients, delicious flavour, with an additional bonus of an astonishing amount of natural protein in the peas!

If they develop soft spots or start sprouting, the shallots should be discarded.

Leeks look like overgrown green onions, but have a milder, more delicate flavor than onions. The white base and green stalk are used for cooking in creamy soups, fresh, stocks and more.

Leeks have a more subtle, slightly sweeter flavor than onions. So you would use them when you want some onion flavor, but don't want it to fight with the rest of the ingredients.

In addition to their great flavor, leeks are also a good source of dietary fiber, and contain large amounts of folic acid, calcium, potassium, and vitamin C. They have laxative, antiseptic, diuretic, and anti-arthritic properties and are easier to digest than regular onions.

Leeks may be planted in late February to March for harvest in early- to mid-summer. Alternatively, they may be planted in July for harvest in late fall/early winter. Leek is an expensive crop to grow, because it is labor intensive.

Alliums often cause problems with digestion because of their high fructose content, possibly contributing to GERD indirectly. Avoid shallots, leeks, and chives, especially if raw. Tomatoes may contribute to GERD through direct irritation of the esophagus because of their acidity.

What do leeks taste like when cooked? ›

Leeks taste like a mild, sweet onion, but with their own distinctive twist. It's hard to describe a specific flavor beyond onion-like, but once you've had leeks, you'll recognize the differences between them. Let's put it this way: shallots and onions taste much more alike other than leeks and onions do.

Leeks. Leeks are decidedly more delicate in flavor than onions and become gloriously melted and creamy in texture when cooked, like shallots do. Also like shallots, leeks can hold the role of star or supporting cast in a dish, making them one of the best options for substitution. You can use leeks 1:1 for shallots.

In flavor, shallots taste very much like a milder and sweeter onion. Their flavor is highly pungent when raw, but mellows and sweetens when cooked. Shallots may be eaten raw or cooked, or if you are fancy and slightly old-timey, pickled.

3 to 4 shallots may be substituted for 1 small onion. (Shallots vary in size so eyeball how big the shallots are and try to equal the amount of one onion.)

Top pairings

Here are my favourite pairings: * Smooth dry white wines such as Chenin Blanc and unoaked or subtle oaked Chardonnay or Italian whites such as Gavi or Soave work with dishes that have a creamy texture or a light cheese sauce or leek dishes with eggs like a leek and cheese quiche.

Strawberries seem to enjoy living next to leeks, and the strong odor of the leeks repels many pests of the berries. Other leek plant companions might be cabbage, tomatoes, beets, and lettuce. The leafy vegetables, especially, seem to benefit from the strong scent of plants in the Allium family.

Vegetable Companions

Leeks, like other members of the onion family, can be wonderful companions for cabbage and other members of their plant family such as broccoli, kale and kohlrabi. The leeks may help repel, confuse or distract common cabbage pests like whiteflies and cabbage white butterflies.

Fall is the optimum time to plant leeks in mild climates. Harvest leeks all through the winter and into the following spring. Even milder and sweeter than shallots, their flavor makes them prized ingredients in stews, stir-fries, and soups.