wild leeks

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Cod a l’Anglaise with Ramp Butter
Sauces & Condiments Seafood Wild Foods

Crisp Cod a l’Anglaise with Ramp Butter

“À l’anglaise” is just a fancy way of saying “English-style” in French. It really has little to do with actual English cooking but refers to the way that the French imagine English cooking to be – in other words, plain and boring. The term à l’anglaise is used without much consistency. In general, it means food that is prepared very simply and presented with no sauce more complex than melted butter. Sometimes it means boiled; other times, it means turned …

Tall, flaky biscuits, fresh from the oven
Breads & Baked Goods Wild Foods

Buttermilk Ramp Biscuits

Nothing says “Country Breakfast” like fresh, hot buttermilk biscuits. There’s really nothing hard about making biscuits. With a little bit of practice, you can whip up a batch in 15 minutes or less (plus baking time, of course). The secret to making great, flaky biscuits lies in a few basic principles. Chill all of your ingredients before you start Cut in the fat with a pastry cutter Add just enough liquid to hold the dry ingredients together Use liquid with …

Spaghetti with Ramp Butter and Morel Mushrooms
Mushrooms Pasta Wild Foods

Spaghetti with Ramp Butter and Morel Mushrooms

Many of our favorite wild foods seem to appear all at once in the early spring, which can make it hard to appreciate each one adequately. A practical way to enjoy the season’s abundance is to combine several of them together into a single dish. Another is to preserve the fresh flavors of the spring wild harvest so they can be enjoyed all year round. This dish does both. The flavor and texture of the morel is well known, and these unique, …

Pickled Ramp Bulbs
Appetizers Sauces & Condiments Wild Foods

Preserving the Wild Harvest: Quick Pickled Ramp (Wild Leek) Bulbs

Ramps (or wild leeks as they’re also known), are a wild-growing member of the onion family that have become one of America’s most popular “rediscovered” folk foods. Of course, ramps have never really been forgotten or gone out of style in their heartland, a broad swath of eastern North America stretching from southern Appalachia, west to the Great Lakes region and north into southern Canada. Spring is the season for ramps, beginning in mid-March in their southern range and ending …

Ramp Biscuits with Ramp and Jowl Bacon Gravy from Above
Breads & Baked Goods Meat Sauces & Condiments Wild Foods

Country Comfort: Ramp & Jowl Bacon Gravy

It’s not surprising that most classic recipes are built on the solid foundation of good old-fashioned country cooking. Ramp and Jowl Bacon Gravy is insanely good over hot, homemade biscuits (check our recipe for Ramp Buttermilk Biscuits), but would be equally at home gracing a roasted veal chop in a fancy white-tablecloth restaurant. No wonder that down-home ingredients like ramps have found their way onto the menus of so many upscale dining establishments! A spoonful or two of this rich, …

Ramps laying on a green platter
Sauces & Condiments Vegetables Wild Foods

Ramps: America’s Love Affair with the Smelly (But Addictively Delicious) Wild Leek

Over the years, many North Americans have come to know and love the lowly wild member of the onion family known as the “ramp” (Allium tricoccum). Why? Ramps possess an unmistakable flavor and powerful aroma that immediately announces their membership in the widespread onion family (Alliaceae), but which is, at the same time, absolutely unique. Ramps, or wild leeks, as they are commonly known in the northern part of their range, have earned their place in the lore of the …

Ramp, Goat Cheese & Pine Nut Phyllo Rolls
Appetizers Breads & Baked Goods Cheese Wild Foods

Ramp, Goat Cheese & Pine Nut Phyllo Rolls

Ramp, Goat Cheese & Pine Nut Phyllo Rolls are inspired by the Greek classic, spanakopita, a layered “pie” which is typically made with spinach and feta cheese wrapped or layered in thin, crisp phyllo pastry. It’s not uncommon for regional variations to contain other wild greens or herbs in addition to or in place of the usual spinach. It’s the sort of hearty, rustic dish that lends itself to experimentation with whatever fresh, local ingredients are readily at hand. Our version uses fresh …

Classic Frankfurters with Grilled Ramp Relish
Sauces & Condiments Wild Foods

Grilled Ramp Relish

If you like grilling, bacon and ramps (not in any particular order), then this recipe is aimed squarely at you. This unusual relish was adapted from a recipe by famed New Orleans chef & showman, Emeril Lagasse. We’ve made a few changes to the original preparation, but let’s give credit where it’s due. Think what you like about Emeril (and his signature “bam!”), but the man has some serious chef chops and his dishes are not only imaginative, they’re also based on solid …

Ramp Risotto with Blue Cheese II
Appetizers Cheese Rice Dishes Wild Foods

Ramp Risotto with Blue Cheese

Making risotto is a contemplative process. It’s not difficult; it just takes a certain amount of planning and time. Assemble your ingredients, heat the stock – then just stand at the stove and stir. The basic ingredients for risotto are simple. Rice and hot stock are essential; wine, butter and cheese are usually included too.  Other ingredients – seafood, vegetables, spices and so on – will vary according to the recipe. Of all these, the most critically important element is the rice. The …

Morel, Fiddlehead & Pancetta Tart, Just Out of the Oven
Appetizers Breads & Baked Goods Meat Mushrooms Wild Foods

Morel, Fiddlehead & Pancetta Tart

Fiddleheads taste like the woodlands in spring time – fresh, green and exuberantly wild. The flavor of fiddleheads is often compared to asparagus, artichokes or green beans, but such comparisons fall short. The truth is, fresh fiddleheads taste like nothing else. Only a few of the many species of ferns are considered to be edible and of those, only two or three are widely consumed. If the best known, and most eaten, is the Eastern fiddlehead, the Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia …