Help - got some supermarket cheap veggies and dont know what to do with them

Horace

I was in Tesco yesterday and got a bag of Italian lettuce leaves (far too big a bag for little ol me but it was less than half price), some baby leeks and some baby plum tomatoes - all of them were on their sell-by date.

Now I am stumped as to what to do with them - can you freeze raw leeks?

Ideas would be fab. Thanks in advance

Horace x

poodlehorse

I am sure you can freeze chopped leeks. I can visualise some in my mum's freezer and I think you can buy them that way in the supermarket. Not sure about the lettuce leaves but I do a lettuce soup that is lovely, basically just make a really runny white sauce which I make with stock and milk rather than just the milk. Add chopped lettuce and then blitz with blender, season. Sounds odd but is light and lovely for lunch and quite moreish.
You tomatoes I would be tempted to cut in half and roast in the oven to make them "sundried" ish.

falady

Hi Horace,

I've got a couple of ideas for the tomatoes:

roast them with olive oil, parsley, oregano and basil (or any combination), salt, pepper and a sprinkle of sugar. Serve with fish or chicken or steak.

The obvious - make a salad with the lettuce and tomatoes - you could make a dressing with olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning if you don't have any dressing.

make tomato soup - there's lads of recipes on the BBC website, but basically you chop an onion finely, fry it until soft with some garlic, add the tomatoes and some stock and herbs and simmer for a while. If you had a red pepper you could chop it finely and cook it with the onion. Whizz it all up at the end!


Baby leeks - you could blanch them for a couple of minutes and griddle them with some olive oil, or maybe make leek and potato soup (fried onion and garlic, add chopped raw potato and leeks and simmer with stock, whizz up when tender.

Let us know what you do!

Ali

Trinny

Hi there

I would recommend making soup if you have room in the freezer - the salad leaves will make a good lettuce soup.

the baby leeks - a good leek and potato soup. Leeks can also be used for making chicken and leek pie - or can be used as an onion substitute.

In Ireland they make champ - which is mashed spuds and poached spring onion - mixed together - leeks could be substituted for the onion if finely shredded.

BW

Trin

sooty&sweep

Hi

Too be honest I ignore sell by dates on fruit and veg as I think the supermarkets use it as a stock rotation thing.

Tomatoes & leeks (depending on their condition) will be fine for a couple of days yet and tomatoes are often sold slightly under ripe anyway. Often things like mangoes, peaches, avacadoes etc only become ripe on or after the date on the packaging.

The salad leaves are abit more fragile and should be used ASAP as their condition will deteriorate fairly quickly. Although again they won't go off just because of the date on the packaging.

Enjoy however you eat them !

Jen

kunekune

I made something nice with leeks tonight. I melted them in butter, added salt and pepper, some cooked peas and some double cream. It was absolutely yummy.

kiwifruit_2

kunekune wrote: »

I made something nice with leeks tonight. I melted them in butter, added salt and pepper, some cooked peas and some double cream. It was absolutely yummy.

I do the same kind of thing but instead of adding the cream i add whisked (well really i just beat them with a fork ) eggs and kind of make it like an egg fried rice without the rice lol...its a good comfort food :beer:
btw kunekune - i love your 'name' - can i presume you have or have something to do with kunekune pigs ?

twentypenceoff

kunekune wrote: »

I made something nice with leeks tonight. I melted them in butter, added salt and pepper, some cooked peas and some double cream. It was absolutely yummy.

i was put off eating leeks because i had some and they were very gritty even though i washed them, did i prepare them badly?

thriftlady_2

twentypenceoff wrote: »

i was put off eating leeks because i had some and they were very gritty even though i washed them, did i prepare them badly?

Possibly. Once you have cut off the very dark green leaves and the root you need to make a cut vertically down the leek and wash really well to get all the soil and grit out.

This video explains two methods of preparing leeks really clearly;)