The leek (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum) is a vegetable belonging, with onion and garlic, to the Alliaceae, the onion family.
Rather than forming a tight bulb such as the onion, the leek produces a long cylinder of bundled leaf sheaths which are generally blanched by pushing soil around them (trenching). They are often sold as small seedlings in flats which are started early in greenhouses, to be set out as weather permits. Once established in the garden, leeks are hardy; many varieties can be left in the ground during the winter to be harvested as needed.
Leek cultivars can be subdivided in several ways, but the most common types are "summer leeks", intended for harvest in the season when planted, and overwintering leeks, meant to be harvested in the spring of the year following planting. Summer leek types are generally smaller than overwintering types; overwintering types are generally more strongly flavored.
Leeks were prized by the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, who distributed the vegetable across Europe. The Leek was the favorite vegetable of the Emperor Nero, who consumed it most often in soup form.
The leek is one of the national emblems of Wales, whose citizens wear it on St. David's Day. According to legend, King Cadwallader ordered his Welsh soldiers to identify themselves by wearing the vegetable on their helmets in an ancient battle against the Saxons that took place in a leek field. This story may have been made up by the English poet Michael Drayton but it is known that the leek has been a symbol of Wales for a long time; Shakespeare for example refers to the custom of wearing a leek as an "ancient tradition" in Henry V. In the play, Henry tells Fluellen he is wearing a leek "for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman". The 1985 and 1990 British One Pound coins bear the design of a leek in a coronet, representing Wales.
The edible portions are the white onion base and light green stalk. Leeks are ideal in sauces, dressed vegetable dishes, soups, casseroles and stir-fries. With potatoes, they're the key ingredients in the classic chilled soup, vichyssoise. They can also be used raw in salads, doing especially well when they are the prime ingredient.
Because of their symbolism in Wales (see below) they have come to be used extensively in that country's cuisine
