There are many benefits to living in cottage country and one of the best is to be able to harvest a variety of wild edible plants that grow here. One of my favourites is the wild Leek (Allium Tricoccum) that appears in the early spring. The French name is L’Ail du Bois- Garlic of the Woods and it is also known as Ramps in the United States. In fact many American communities throughout the Appalachian states host wild ramp festivals in celebration of this fabulous plant. The wild Leek is valued for its amazing flavour and is a great addition to soups, stews and sauces.
Once the snow has melted and red trilliums are blooming in the woods, you can find Leeks growing in clumps amongst hardwood trees like maple and beech along with other early spring flowers like trout lilies, spring beauties and dutchman’s breeches. The ‘brightest green in the bush’, leeks are easy to spot and smell! Unlike the cultivated leeks that you find in grocery stores, wild leeks are small like green onions (or scallions) and they have a very pungent, garlic-like aroma.
If you would like to harvest wild Leeks it is important to know a few things. First, make sure that you know who owns the land, and that you have properly identified them. Leeks may be harvested from public lands (not parks) but it is important to be considerate and responsible. When in doubt, find out!
Leeks are slow to grow, with an average life cycle of 7 years, so pick sparingly. I am fortunate to have permission from a couple of friends, who have huge patches of wild leeks growing on their properties. Still, I never harvest from the first few patches that I come across and I never take more than 2 or 3 clumps from a patch, ensuring they will continue to grow and spread. Besides, digging them up is a real work-out as they have an extensive and tenacious root system! Cleaning them is also labour-intensive. My method for cleaning Leeks is to give them a good hosing outside, following by snipping off the tops and bottoms, then another rinse in the kitchen sink, more peeling and trimming if required, and putting all the trimmings into the compost pile.
You may be surprised at how little you end up with after all the cleaning, but where Leeks lack in size, they more than make up for in flavour! Once the cleaning is done, I love to treat myself by sautéing a few Leeks in the frying pan with a little butter and salt- Yum! I used to make a big pot of Potato-Leek soup each spring, but what I end up doing now is freezing the Leeks in a Ziploc bag so I can use them throughout the year. Leeks can be added to almost any recipe that calls for garlic or onion. In fact I just used up my remaining Leeks from last year’s harvest in a recent batch of spaghetti sauce.
With spring on its way, it won’t be long before I will be able to re-stock my wild leek supply. There is a wealth of information available on-line about wild Leeks and many other edible wild plants, so be sure to do your research before venturing out. On the first sunny, warm day in the spring right before the black flies start to bite, look for me in the woods. Chances are you will find me on my hands and knees… covered in dirt and grazing in a bright green patch of leeks!