At the market last week I noticed that wild leek had given way to wild garlic. Is wild garlic (sold without the green leaves) the same as wild leek? After some searching and comparing of sources, I do believe it is. The Latin name is Allium tricoccum.
During my research, I found some interesting history and fun facts about wild leek/garlic, including the debate about whether “chicagoua,” an aboriginal name for wild leek, gave Chicago its name. Some say yes, others no.
I also discovered that it is endangered and protected in Quebec, but not in Ontario. An article in last spring’s Globe and Mail on locavore.ca provides some surprising insights into foraged foods. The local blog GuideGatineau.ca highlights the dangers of over-harvesting, which can lead to an arrest in Quebec.
A couple of weeks ago at the Ottawa Farmers Market, Jedediah Loeks of The Rainbow Heritage Garden explained how he respectfully harvests the wild leek on his property. He looks for large patches of wild leek and picks from the middle. The plants will fill in the void to complete the patch. He also transplants some wild leek to similar habitats to ensure its survival and propagation.
Good reminders to eat food with respect and be grateful for these foraged treasures.
Recipe: Wild Leek Pesto
Wild leek pesto is super easy to make, showcases the flavour of wild leek beautifully, and keeps its great bright green colour.
Making pesto with wild leek is one of the simplest preparations, and lets all the flavour come through. Remove greens from the wild leek and chop roughly. Use several bulbs for the pesto; save the others for another dish. Place chopped leaves and bulbs in a food processor (I have a small one, which worked well for the small quantity I was working with). Add approx. 2 tbsp of olive oil. Process, occasionally scraping down the sides to ensure a consistent texture, until smooth. Add more olive oil as necessary. Season with pepper and salt. I kept my wild leek pesto in a jar in the fridge for over a week and the colour stayed bright green until we finished it!
Fresh homemade pasta tossed with wild leek pesto, toasted pine nuts and freshly grated parmesan.
We decided a simple preparation would best showcase the wild leek pesto. David made some
homemade pasta—a thirty-minute affair—which we tossed with the pesto, a sprinkle of fresh parmesan, and some pine nuts. Simply delicious!
We made ramp pesto recently as well and found it handy to freeze it into cubes in an ice cube tray. Not my original idea and old as the hills. We were feeling over ramped by all the dishes that we had made and so the taste testing of our ramp pesto is still coming up. One pleasure about its life cycle being short is that it really becomes something to look forward to and anticipate in the spring!! Your pasta looks fantastic!
Thanks for posting a comment!
I’m sure your ramp pesto will be delicious and, as you eat it, bring back memories of spring and that great feeling of cooking with the first fresh ingredients.
We also made a quiche with some of the wild leek pesto, fresh wild leek greens and oven-roasted wild leek bulbs. Made a nice combination of wild leek flavours. Herbaceous, garlicky, and sweet.