Season of the Onion

Barbara Kingsolver noted that, historically, February is called ‘Hungry Month’ in about a hundred different tongues. But, for us April is the month that challenges our kitchen. What is the cuisine of earliest spring? Everyone is ready for a change from the steadfast but stodgy roots of winter, yet the hearty fruits of summer are months away, and there is only so much heft you can put into a green leaf.

Let the Earth tell us what to eat: the earliest shoots popping up from winter’s nap are the alliums. The onions, garlics, and their kin. Chives, garlic chives, leeks, walking onions, scallions, the wild onions and the aristocrat of them all – the ramp Allium tricoccum.

These vegetables have both the brightness of color to uplift your spring meals, as well as the strength of character to lend themselves to some richer preparations. Classic onions are themselves at the end of their dormancy but still good for roasting or sautéing as the body of a main dish. But, as green onions become more available do yourself a favor and replace those big sprouting bulbs with scallions. The big professionally grown ones from the market are particularly good. Buy some extra and dress them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and grill or broil them whole for a great side to steak, atop burgers, or with a grilled fish.

If your pantry’s supply of garlic is running low or gone, that’s OK, because you planted the extra, small cloves of garlic last fall, right? Well, it’s time to start digging those shoots and eating them as green garlic. I also plant each fall some of the bulbils from my hardneck garlic to also harvest as green garlic each spring. These thinner plants are cut and used like herbs. Green garlic makes a smashing soup, great stir fry, or can be chopped from top to bottom and used as you would garlic cloves.

Chives are hands down the classiest of all the herbs. Use them by the heavy handful in eggs, savory custards, pasta salads, mashed or buttered potatoes, or in grain salads while they are at their quality peak during these cool days. Chives are rare at the market; they are a reward for the home gardener, so plant lots.

But it is ramps that capture the imagination of the palate more than any other allium. They are wild, ephemeral treats and you should learn how to hunt them or where to buy them. If you buy them it is a sound investment to go ahead and transplant some (or many) of them. You will need to plant them in moist, shady places, and in clumps. They are forest plants and will not thank you for favoring them with a little extra light. They grow beautifully at the base of mature trees. Over time they will self divide and self seed. Their flavor is a perfect blend of garlic and leek; aromatic without being fiery. To cook them, do little. A fast sauté in hot fat or a flash on the grill is all they need to accompany asparagus, morels, and meats divinely. You can certainly also use them to infuse eggs and custards, but generally treat them more as a vegetable than an herb.