{"id":12573,"date":"2014-03-12T18:00:30","date_gmt":"2014-03-12T23:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=12573"},"modified":"2014-03-10T17:34:20","modified_gmt":"2014-03-10T22:34:20","slug":"local-food-take-a-leek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/local-food-take-a-leek\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Food: Take a Leek"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JesseYancyColumnHeader\"<\/a>Before my ancestors were shipped off to Virginia for lampooning the local gentry and skipping out on enormous bar tabs, they lived in a beautiful old country on the west coast of Britain known as Wales.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wales has long since been assimilated (though not without prolonged contention) into the United Kingdom. But, like other countries in the UK, Wales still observes its own saint\u2019s day, the Feast of St. David, which falls on March 1. It\u2019s a crying shame that the beloved David\u2019s feast has been eclipsed by that humbug Patrick\u2019s on the 17th; after all, compared to David, Patrick was second-rate. David was able to make the earth beneath him shift and rise, an impressive feat, whereas Patrick\u2019s most notable claim to fame is the single-handed extinction of Ireland\u2019s indigenous serpents, something sin-ridden whalers did with the great auk. Not only that, but David was a true Welshman, a native of Cardigan, while Patrick himself was actually from Wales (some say Scotland, but he certainly wasn\u2019t Irish).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Leeks3\"<\/a>The Irish praise the potato (another import), but the Welsh glory in the leek, which has been cultivated in Eurasia for millennia. Welsh soldiers wore leeks into battle to distinguish themselves as early as the days of King Arthur, himself a Welshman. If the Irish ever wore potatoes into battle, it would have been after spuds came to the Old World, sometime during the 17th\u00a0century, when the Irish suffered their most decimating defeats at the hands of the English. As a parting shot, let me add that daffodils, the national flower of Wales, strike a much livelier note in a vase than a bunch of sissy shamrocks ever will.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leeks are basically big-ass green onions, which place them in the culinarily important botanical family of\u00a0Alliaceae; all onions, as well as garlic, chives, shallots and their ilk, belong to this group of herbs. An American member of this tribe is the wild leek of our Southern highlands (Allium tricoccum), commonly referred to as the ramp.\u00a0The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery\u00a0cites the plant as the source of an important spring tonic to relieve a host of real or imagined winter illnesses and states that \u201cpeople either love or hate the strong-scented plant.\u201d One woman is quoted as saying, \u201cyou can smell anybody that\u2019s took (sic) a bite of one a half a mile away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Leeks were domesticated in Ur. They\u2019re a cool-season crop, which goes a long way to explain why they\u2019re not a familiar item on the Southern sideboard. I can usually grab a bunch (three stalks) of leeks for about that many dollars any time of the year at my local supermarket. Jerry, the produce guy there, says they ship twenty bunches to a crate, and it\u2019s a rare week that he has to order them more than once.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t do much with them except put them in soups,\u201d he said, and leeks are great in soups; my Scots ancestors used chicken and leeks (with barley) in their jauntily-named cock-a-leekie soup, and leeks can be substituted for onions in almost any potage for a milder flavor. But they\u2019re also a beautiful addition to any stir-fry (working well with sweet peppers), and thin slices of leek in a quiche look nice and taste great.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"leeks_au_gratin_blog\"<\/a>Leeks also take exceptionally well to braising and are great in a gratin, which is what I recommend.<\/strong><\/span> Use one leek per person. Cut away the roots and the last inch or so of the green away and wash very well. Slice and layer the rounds in a gratin or baking dish. Cover with a cream sauce, a b\u00e9chamel or a Mornay, which is what I use. You can add cooked, sliced red potatoes to this for something a little more substantial, but keep the seasonings simple, just a bit of salt and pepper, nothing more. If you\u2019re using a cream sauce or a b\u00e9chamel, a liberal sprinkling of good hard cheese is a great idea, but for Pete\u2019s sake get a piece of cheese and grate it; don\u2019t use that substance that\u2019s sold in a green plastic shaker. Place in a hot oven (375) until bubbling. Do not overcook; fifteen minutes tops should do it. Serve hot.\u00a0<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

For more food musings by Jesse Yancy, head over to “Made in Mississippi” at jesseyancy.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

This article was originally printed in The Local Voice<\/em> #198 (published February 20, 2014). To download a PDF of this issue, click HERE<\/a>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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