As you likely know by now, Leeks are a staple of your winter boxes. They are a hardy crop that grows well here in the winter, when our storage onions are long gone. While onions are far more common in American cooking, leeks are very closely related and can be used as a substitute.  The trick is, you have to cook them differently from onions.  They have very little water, and thus burn easily if not treated with care.

This is why the most common ways to use leeks is in soup -- the liquid keeps the leeks from burning while simultaneously softening and absorbing their flavors.  But there's another way to safely cook leeks without burning:  in the oven.  Simply slice the leeks thinly (always cleaning first),salt, toss with a teaspoon or so of oil for each leek you use, and roast in the oven.  The leeks will soften, except for a few that may caramelize, and their mellow flavor will bloom.

Leeks cooked this way are good on their own, or tossed into a salad or sauteed vegetable dish.  Or, you can place a piece of fish like salmon or tuna on top of the roasted leeks and broil it.  As the fish cooks, the juices will soak into the leeks, doubling their flavor.  I guarantee you you will find yourself wishing you had sliced more leeks.

There's an article in the New York Times this week about roasting leeks, which also includes a video on how to clean them.  If you still haven't figured out this crucial step, I encourage you to watch it.

This time of year, we try to alternate cooking greens in your boxes, switching between different types of kale and collards.   Cooking greens generally grow through the winter, and we harvest the leaves as they get big enough.  But right now, Collards are the only greens that have big enough leaves to pick.  The kale plants are not growing, which is why we are not harvesting them.

You also may have noticed that the cold weather has turned the tips of the collard leaves purple, a result of the plants not being able to pull phosphorus out of the soil, which has been frozen every morning.  This is just a cosmetic issue -- some people call this condition "frost kissed", and it generally makes the greens sweeter.

You will be seeing more nuts in your boxes this year, especially in the next month or two while other crops may be hard to come by due to the effects of the cold weather.  We had a good crop of Walnuts -- which you get today -- as well as pistachios this year.  Last year we had a poor crop of both.  Remember that organic nuts are best kept frozen if you don't plan on using them quickly.

Recipe:  Baked Rigatoni with Leeks, Collards, Walnuts and Mushrooms
You can saute the leeks with the other vegetables instead, but it will definitely change the recipe.  Plus, you have to turn the oven on anyway, and roasting them doesn't add to the cooking time.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Boil and salt water for pasta.

Clean and thinly slice 2 leeks lengthwise in 2 inch strips.  Toss them with 1 T. olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven in a baking dish or cast iron skillet until tender and just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook 2 C. of rigatoni or other larger tubular pasta until just tender.

Trim and dice 1 bunch collard greens.  Slice 2 C. fresh portabello mushrooms.  Saute them together until tender in 2 T. olive oil with 1 T. minced garlic.

Toast 1 C. walnuts in a pan until lightly brown.

Combine all the ingredients except the pasta in a large bowl  2 C. ricotta cheese and 2 C. milk.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Add the cooked pasta to the bowl and stir well to combine.  Empty into a 9x12 inch baking dish and top with 1/2 C. grated parmesan. 

Bake until golden, 30-40 minutes.