DEAR DAME EVELYN , Lately I have found that I can't seem to keep myself from buying leeks. I never used to buy leeks at all, I never cared about them and hardly knew what they were. Now I buy them every time I go to the farmers market, which is every weekend. They are irresistible and pretty inexpensive, for organic stuff. But ... now they are piling up. What am I supposed to do with them? I originally chopped them up and sautéed them as the base for butternut squash soup. I love butternut squash soup (as does my husband), but you can't have butternut squash soup every night (sometimes I think I hear my husband grumbling), and anyway squash season is pretty much over. Spring is here! And I still have a crisper full of leeks in my fridge. I could use some guidance.

Leeky

My sweet, The root of your problem is ... no, no, you don't have a problem. You just love your leeks! Dame Evelyn feels your love, and shares it. Her crisper too overflows with them. Luckily the situation is not as dire as it seems. Leeks substitute quite nicely for onions in many applications (they are milder, though, and better suited to subtler dishes, so bear this in mind), but they also make an attractive dish on their own. (Dame Evelyn learned this years ago in France, when she thought she was ordering grilled peppers in vinaigrette.) Trim the root end of a large leek and cut off the green parts. You should be left with a fat white tube. Slit the tube lengthwise but not all the way through and wash thoroughly under cold running water. (Leeks can be gritty inside.) Then, with string, tie a loop near each end of the leek so it doesn't fall apart when you cook it. This you do by boiling gently for 10 minutes or so (depending on the size of the leek). Remove, drain, plate (get rid of the strings!), and drizzle with your favorite vinaigrette. Bon appétit!

Crisply, E.G.-S.