My poor garden – it can’t figure out what it is supposed to be doing. By day the temperatures are warm to mild, and yet the evenings bring night after night of killing frost. It doesn’t know whether it should be dormant, or like one of my lilacs, blossom (about 2 1/2 months early!)
The one plant that seems to be right on schedule is the wild onion, Allium Triquetrum. You’ve probably seen them growing everwhere in your garden: blade-like leaves about a foot long with a cluster of delicate white star shaped flowers on the end of a stiff stalk. If you are uncertain if this is what you have, just pick it and smell it. Onion! Another give-away is the three-sided stem, which gives them the nickname, Three Corner Leek. Still unsure? Pop the little blossom in your mouth – onion again!
The whole plant is edible, but as with any wild plant, be sure to use only ones that you know to be pesticide-free. Also, avoid using any from the side of the road, as they have absorbed pollutants from passing cars.
The bulbs can be sauteed like green leeks, or sliced raw and tossed on salads. Use the stalks as you would a green onion. The flowers are a pleasant surprise garnish – not only visually pretty, but adding a fresh, light onion taste.
These little gems look innocent enough, but left unchecked they will take over your garden, choking out other less hardy plants. Not native to this area, these plants are originally from Europe and Asia. And yes, they are perennials, spreading underground so you have to be vigilant about getting rid of them. An environmentally friendly way to do that is to pull them up and use them in the kitchen. I do leave some around – the flowers are so cheery and I want to be sure to have an oniony supply for the following year.
This weather is confusing to me, as well – by day I think of lighter meals but by the time the sun goes down and the temperature goes way down, I long for more of the nuturing comfort foods, especially soup.
One soup that covers both bases for me is wild onion and potato soup – the creamy, soothing taste and feel of the potatoes and cream is lightened by the green taste of the leeks. And when I garnish it with the wild onion flowers, it does my heart good to see flowers that have come from an otherwise barren garden.
Recipe
Wild onion and potato soup
makes about 6 cups
Ingredients:
• 3 Tbls butter
• 3/4 cup cleaned wild leeks, 1/2 green part, 1/2 white part
• 1 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2”
cubes
• 4 cups chicken broth, home made if possible
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
• dash of nutmeg (freshly grated makes a huge difference – you
can find whole nutmeg in the bulk herb section at Sonoma
Market)
• 2 Tblsp each finely chopped wild onion stems, and wild onion
flowers for garnish
Preparation:
Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat.
Add the onions and cook slowly until the onions are soft – you don’t want to brown them. Add the potatoes, stock and milk. Cover and cook until the potatoes are al dente, about 10 minutes.
Remove 3/4 cup of the potatoes. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg to the soup. Puree’ until smooth. Add the potatoes back into the soup, and stir to well combine.
Serve hot, and garnish each portion with a sprinkling of chopped onion and flowers.
