WHILE we’re talking about chives, this is a good place to mention a much-sought-after relative called ramps (Allium tricoccum), a kind of leek that grows wild in open woodlands and fields from Appalachia across to the Great Lakes states and from eastern Canada to the Carolinas. In Appalachia they’re called ramps; in the Midwest, wild leeks. When I was a kid growing up in Pennsylvania, where we bought milk from a local dairy, it was not uncommon to be confronted with onion-flavored milk in the spring. The cows, turned out to early pasture, ate the ramps that grew among the shrubs on a slope near our house. While onion milk doesn’t have much to recommend it, the ramps that imparts the flavor do: It’s a strong oniony aroma and flavor.
Ramps are best from March to May, before the flower stalks appear. Their leaves can be used to wrap delicate fish for poaching or braising, and to flavor egg dishes, soups, or sauces. The bulbs can be used like shallots to impart a strong onion flavor to omelets and other dishes. Three tablespoons of minced leaves can be whisked together with 1/2 cup each of mayonnaise and yogurt, 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard to make a sauce for spring asparagus.
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