Take Your Tops Off

I apologize for getting a bit frisky this Friday morning. It’s just that last night I discovered something novel, something exciting, something that even some might call brilliant.

While making a fresh batch of potato leek soup (sweet butter + leek +  potato + blender), I was left with a bunch of hard, green leek tops.

Unless you want some sort of Dr. Seuss-ish soup, it is best to only use the white parts of the leek and put the darker green parts to the side. But right there is the big dilemma. What do you do with the discarded leek parts? Of course, you can always throw them back in the crisper and cross your fingers that you remember to use them within the next two days. But what if you want to use them right then and there?

Luckily, I had already turned the oven to high as I was preparing to make some kale chips for said soup. Ta. Da.

And as I pulled the crispy veggie crunchies from the oven rack, that’s when it hit me:

Leeks. Oven. Chips. Leek Chips!

I decided to prepare them as I would with kale, keeping the oven on at 400 degrees and using olive oil to grease them down. Then I peppered the leek tops with paprika, granulated garlic, and black pepper.

And finally, the leeks were left to frizzle and frazzle for 20-30 minutes in the oven (watch these suckers carefully), and in a blink of an eye, I had a batch of crispy yet luscious leek chips to munch while waiting for the soup to be done.

So there you have it. Something quick and easy to try this weekend and another ingenious way to keep food from going to waste and your belly full.

Chow on.