Foraging at Ohana: Ramps are rampant

I stumbled onto a foragers delight at Ohana the other day! When the green of spring arrives so do the ramps and they seem to be prolific this year. Whether it is because of the mild winter or fall rains or something else entirely, I do not know. What I do know is that both my pizza and salad dressing were wildly better with the addition of ramps. Though I must confess my favorite way to prepare them is simply gently grilled.

Ramps are also known as wild leeks. They tend to grow in dense woods and often in clusters so it is easy to harvest. (Being a responsible forager I never collect more than 1/3 of what I see- I want to be sure I can keep collecting in year to come.) Other delights on the list right now are wild asparagus and fiddleheads. I haven’t found any yet at Ohana… but I will keep looking.

A wild leek/ramp recipe suggestion from Euell Gibbons (one of my favorite foraging authors) from his book, Stalking the Wild Asparagus,

 
“We consider wild leek bulbs the sweetest and best of the wild onions. They have a mild onion flavor with a hint of garlic, which I find delicious. This is the ingredient par excellence for a forager’s French Onion Soup. Clean the bulbs by removing the outer fibrous skin, then slice them thinly crosswise. Sauté 1 cup of these sliced leeks in 2 tablespoons of butter. Add 2 cups of broth or consommé and 1 cup of water. Simmer for 20 minutes over low heat and you’ll have a good onion soup without doing any more. But if you want to make it a real occasion, add 2 tablespoons of sherry to the soup and pour it into individual ramekins. Cut a round of toast for each bowl and float it carefully on top of the soup. Sprinkle the toast with grated Parmesan cheese and set the bowls in a hot oven for ten minutes to let the cheese melt slightly. This is the way one who is not satisfied to be known as merely a good cook can acquire a reputation as a culinary artist.”