Last Saturday, a dear friend dropped by unexpectedly and delivered a fabulous, edible present that was local– very local. It wasn’t honey, or fish caught in the Sound, it wasn’t even a vegetable that he had cared for and grown on his patio. It was something that he had foraged. I’m not even sure why, but this made it all the more exciting– I was thrilled! Inside an old shopping bag, was a jumble of dirty ramps, the roots still clinging to the rocky soil in which they were buried.
For those of you who are not familiar with ramps, they are also called wild leeks, but I think that they have a taste all their own. It is a bit like green garlic– delicate and highly fragrant. However, they are far too pungent to be eaten raw. But when cooked they are mellow and sweet, [...]

What is this lovely? Well, it’s not a scallion, and it’s too broad to be garlic chives, so by process of elimination, it’s a ramp, or as some like to call it– a wild leek. Indigenous to North America this aromatic vegetable simply resembles other vegetables, but has a taste that is uniquely it’s own.
I had seen ramps popping up on menus in restaurants around town prepared in various ways; left whole and grilled, sauteed and braised, or even slivered and served raw, but I had yet to try them myself. When I saw them, haphazardly lying in nest-like pile at Berkeley Bowl, I decided to bring them home and experiment with them for dinner.
At $9 a pound, these babies are not cheap, but doing my research I understand why. Ramps are generally grown and foraged in the wild. I’m not actually sure how “wild” one can get in the [...]