Stalking the Wild Leek

Wild leeks make their first appearance shortly after snowmelt and flourish in hardwood forests the length of the Appalachian Mountains. Angelica, being in the southern tier of western NY state, is a part of the Appalachian Region, sitting in the lowland foothills of those ancient mountains. Here the wild leeks grow prolifically. Several of the local schools around here need rules forbidding coming to school having eaten raw leeks. You can imagine what fun pubescent boys have had over the centuries trying to subtly cause an olfactory stir in class, maybe getting the attention of that pretty girl.

In this early spring time they are a sweet garlicy onion treat we know and love. Right now the leeks are quite young and small, as you can see in the close up above. We harvested small leeks this morning and we'll be harvesting leeks for the next two weeks, steaming them and adding them to our frozen take home dinners like our ham, leek and mashed potato dinner. This and our other frozen take home dinners will be available soon and until we close in the fall; all made from our homegrown vegetables and meats locally raised here in Allegany County.

Tonight we have some good friends coming to a discussion group at our house. For a snack we'll make a leek pesto crostini with lightly steamed leeks (1 cup), olive oil (1/2 cup), nuts of choice (1/2 cup), Parmesan (1/2 cup), 2 cloves of garlic, and the juice of 1/2 a lemon, spun together in the food processor and spread over pieces of my husband's homemade whole wheat bread and toasted in the oven, maybe a small square of local cheddar on top of some of them.

Tomorrow we're also having friends over, this time for dinner, including our doctor. You plan the menu carefully when the man who prescribes your statin is coming to dinner. For the appetizer for that meal, I'll be making a leek humus with chick peas (1 cup), the steamed whole leeks (1 cup), one whole orange peeled, tahini (1/4 cup), the juice of 1/2 a lemon, and a tsp of Cajun or plain salt all spun together. We'll serve dried apples alongside for dipping. A mild flavored cracker would do equally as well. This one combines the joy of the faint sweetness in the leeks with the mild citrus orange but with the onion background smoothed out by the tahini and mild flavor of the beans.
So take a walk in the woods this week. You might discover some delightful fresh food to take home for supper. Oh, and maybe download Euell Gibbons' book Stalking the Wild Asparagus, the bible of wild edible foods.