Leek leaf pesto: Celebrating in-season British leeks

With the number of vegans in the UK set to hit over 2 million by the end of 2020, demand for inspiring, seasonal, but cost effective vegan recipes is rising too. With leeks now at the peak of their season, the British Leek Growers Association has teamed up with vegan chef and nutritionist Julie Cleijne of Sustainable Food Consultants, to create a suite of delicious, new vegan recipes with leeks at their heart.

The newly created vegan recipes all feature British Leeks and range from store cupboard staples to celebratory indulgences.

Julie Cleijne says: “British leeks are one of the Country’s most nutritious and yet under used and appreciated vegetables… until now. If there has been one silver lining to the pandemic, it has been to bring these nutritious, delicious and versatile vegetables centre stage and we’ve seen sales of leeks jump by 15.6% this year.

As one of the few indigenous British vegetables to be ‘in season’ throughout the winter months we really should be eating more of them, to reduce air miles, boost immunity and save the pennies. The recipes I’ve created are not only strong on flavour, they’re easy on the pocket too with the cost per serving from as little at 48p.