Welcoming spring into the kitchen
In Greek mythology, the changing of the seasons is explained via the story of Demeter, the earth goddess of vegetation and fruitfulness (her name literally means Mother Nature) and the loss and rediscovery of her daughter, Persephone.
As the story is told, Persephone is abducted by Hades (the god of the underworld) to be his bride and both she and her mother are decidedly non-plussed. Persephone vows she will not eat in Hades kingdom, out of protest, and so her mother ceases to nurture the planet.
Everything becomes barren, to the extent that Zeus (the ruler among gods) must intervene and force a compromise. Zeus allows Hades to keep Persephone for half of the year (winter) and the other half she can spend on Earth with her mother. And while not every winter is as hellish as another — we certainly enjoyed a lucky bounce this year — there is no mistaking the joy we feel as Persephone is reunited with Demeter and the earth blooms once again.
All over Niagara, chefs are girding their loins for the growing season and the bounty this region will produce.
The next few weeks will see farmers and hobby gardeners readying their land for the growing season. Garden sheds will be re-organized with snow shovels taking a backseat to rakes and Roto-tillers.
Just the other day I was reminded of the impending season as I climbed into my little car and was accosted by a ripe, pungent, earthy smell; it appears a bag of manure destined for our small garden was ‘forgotten’ behind the driver’s seat.
Demeter, for her part, has been getting ready, too, with a slew of wild edibles that are just beginning to push.
The first wild plant that begins to grace local menus is the wild leek. It seems no matter how many seasons Niagara cooks deal with this wild plant, there is still confusion over what to call it. The reason for this is that the wild leek goes by a few names. And the plant is an onion, not a leek. In Appalachia, just south of our border and stretching down into the Carolinas, the wild plant is known by the name ramp. In that part of the world, ramps start to push as early as the first week of April. Here in the Great Lakes region, ramps — or wild leeks as we call them — will be in full growth by middle to end of April. Wild leeks (a.k.a. ramps) have a small white bulb, purple stems and slender, green leaves. And they’re delicious.
So that clears the confusion, until you walk into your local farmer’s market and see a wicker basket teaming with ‘domestic ramps.’ Most likely what you are looking at is green garlic. Green garlic is the early leafy growth of the garlic plant, before the scape — which is the flower bud of the garlic plant — grows. From the garlic scape comes the garlic bulb. The reason that green garlic is sold as domestic ramps is that ramps (a.k.a. wild leeks) have a wonderful, garlicky flavour.
Please don’t worry if you still can’t get it straight. Whatever you call spring ’s earliest, edible greens, they are all fantastic in dressings, as a pesto or in flans and quiches. And never fear, if ramps don’t do it for you, rest assured Demeter is just getting started. Welcome home, Persephone.
— Ross Midgley moved from P.E.I. to Niagara in 1999. Since then he has held the lead position in several of the region’s top kitchens. He is passionate about his family, all things Niagara and good rock ’n’ roll. He can be reached at chefrmidgley1968@gmail.com.