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The Welsh and the Leeks

Apart from bringing a subtle taste to any stews or soups, the leek is quite an achiever, with a more delicate and sweeter flavor than onions. Leeks are related to onions, shallots and scallions to which they bear some resemblance.

They look like large scallions having a very small bulb and a long white cylindrical stalk of superimposed layers that flows into green, tightly wrapped, flat leaves. In this pic above, it looks as though they’re wearing a little grass skirt!

Leeks have been cultivated since the time of the Ancient Egyptians. The Romans considered the leek a superior vegetable and Emperor Nero got through so many he gained the nickname Porophagus (leek eater); he is reported to have thought that eating leeks would improve his singing voice! It didn’t, and his fiddle playing was just as bad.

Phoenician traders are said to have introduced the leek to Wales when they were trading for tin in the British Isles – an act that would unexpectedly elevate this humble veg to national status thousands of years later. Legend has it that in 640AD, the Briton King Cadwallader and his men were engaged in battle with invading Saxons. To distinguish themselves from the enemy, the Welsh wore leeks in their hats – and subsequently gained a great victory over their opponents.

The leek is also associated with the Welsh Saint David. During the Middle Ages when Saint David was alive the leek was seen as a healthy and virtuous plant. Extraordinary qualities were claimed for it. It was the original health food, high in fibre, good for purging the blood, keeping colds at bay and healing wounds.

According to my book of dreams (an ancient copy I picked up in the UK a long time ago) the leek also acquired mystic virtues. It was claimed that girls who slept with a leek under their pillow on St David’s Day would see their future husband in their dreams.

The humble leek is also mentioned in the Bible. The book of Numbers records how after leaving Egypt, the children of Israel missed a range of foods including leeks.

The leek in Hebrew is called Karti, which is a pun on another Hebrew word yikartu meaning ‘to be cut off’. Thus the Jews eat leeks at Rosh Hashanah to symbolise a wish for their enemies ‘to be cut off’. Ah, the rich lore from this humble veg! Then of course, it became quite famous in France, in a soup called Vichyssoise, which is made with potatoes and leeks, and served cold. Yum!