Oneida County, Valley of the Mohawk. Leeks are up! Harvest next weekend. Cast iron pan, oil, a fire in the woods, that's living! Enjoy the hunt!
I'm new to leeks however I found a huge patch late last summer while scouting for deer season that were already forming seed. The place is in Jefferson Co and is a little bit of a drive from my house so I want to time my trip just right. Any tips on when I should plan to go?
They emerge as soon as the snow cover is gone. Down here in Oneida County I could of harvested some advanced patches last weekend. Today it will be a quick task to fill a bucket. As a reference, I saw someone mowing their lawn for the first time, this spring, yesterday.
I'm only a few miles from Jefferson County. I'd say at least a week before they come up. Once they start it don't take long for um to grow.
Had a leek fest yesterday. Bunch of people around a fire cooking up leeks. The leeks were grown, plentiful, and sweet!
I recently heard of a recipe for a ramp/leek pesto for pasta that I want to try this season. You use the leaf rather than the bulb.
Absolutely I do a mix of fiddleheads and ramps. But my favorite way to eat them is heavily charged on the grill with just olive oil and S-P. Sometimes a remoulade or shiracha aoili to dip them in.
I'm seeing tons of them this year. The leaves are about 4" high right now. We usually don't gather any until around May 1st. Ramps, morels and fresh eggs make for a great breakfast!! You can keep them fairly fresh for quite a while in the fridge by not washing them. Then again, after going through the effort to dig them up, it's difficult not to include them in a dish every time the opportunity presents itself. Ramps and fingerling potatoes make a great soup using any available potatoe leek soup recipe.
Found these in Jefferson County this afternoon. Never have found them when they were still edible. Now to find some good recipes!
Oil in a skillet, not too hot, you want the bulbs to cook without burning the leaves. After cleaning I cut the plant into threes (to make consumption easier), throw them in the pan, salt, pepper. Scoop them up with some Pita bread, enjoy. The wife also makes a linguine type sauce with leeks which we have over pasta. We use them in everything and freeze a bunch. Season is short and the younger the better.
I have a spot up here I can check. There's usually thousands in the patches I get them from. I'll check it out over the next couple days.
Thanks for the tips geogymn! I made a frittata this morning with leeks and leftover Easter ham that I cured and smoked myself. Husband said it was the best frittata he ever had. Going to try your ideas and possibly pickled leeks. Heading out in the morning for another round of digging. When you guys harvest leeks, do you leave the bottom part of the bulb and the roots to grow next year?
