Leek for winter

With the arrival of autumn, many housewives wonder: "How to preserve leeks for winter?". This wonderful vegetable is rich in a great number of vitamins and minerals, and leeks have the exceptional property that the longer they are stored, the more beneficial substances they accumulate.

There are several ways to store this onion. Having a cellar simplifies this task – there, the vegetable can be covered with sand, where it will sit without significant changes for about six months. However, not everyone has a cellar. Therefore, for residents of urban apartments, freezing leeks and drying them are the best options.

Preparation time: 3 hours.

Ingredients

• leeks – 2 pcs. (from this quantity, you get 50 g of dried leek and 200 g of frozen).

Preparation

1. Prepare the only ingredient – the leek needs to be thoroughly washed, especially in the leaf axils, where dirt mainly accumulates. Then, pat the stems dry with a paper towel.

2. Cut the white part of the leek into rings. The green feathers are also important – they should be thinly sliced into strips.

3. Part of the cut should be dried. For this, take more green pieces. If there is a dehydrator, the process will be easier – lay out the cut on the rack and set the temperature to 50 degrees.

4. You can also dry the leeks in the oven with upper and lower heating with convection turned on, but keep the oven door slightly ajar. The temperature is the same as in the dehydrator – 50 degrees.

5. Dry the onion until it becomes brittle (this will take about 2.5-3 hours).

6. The second part of the leeks, where the white part of the stalk is more present, should be placed in a bag and sent to the freezer.

7. Dried onion can be stored in large shavings (as it dried), or it can be transferred to a coffee grinder for grinding.

8. Grind the leeks into a fine crumb.

Ground leeks for winter can be stored in a glass jar (in this form, the preparation takes up very little space). This is a wonderful seasoning for many dishes – both for first courses and second courses, and even for snacks. Dried onions, like frozen ones, can last for many years if not consumed earlier. Soups and broths seasoned with leeks are extraordinarily aromatic and healthy.