Wild leeks, green onions, chives and leeks signal spring in winter climates. Along with onions, garlic and shallots, they occupy the lily or allium family. Delicate lilies might not immediately claim the pungently odiferous wild leeks as close cousins.
Alliums are a natural spring tonic. They cleanse the blood, provide vitamin C, A and minerals, prostaglandin A1 (a fatty acid therapeutic for hypertension) — and increase production of high-density lipoproteins, which reduce blood serum cholesterol and help combat heart disease. Raw alliums help additionally to combat chronic bronchitis.
Whether you grill, steam, sauté, braise, stir-fry, roast, pickle or eat these alliums raw in salsa and salad, they are your fast track to a full-bodied spring wake-up. The pungent flavor of the white bulb and earthy green leaves goes especially well with potatoes, pasta, eggs, cabbage, spinach, bacon, wild rice, asparagus and mushrooms; anywhere you’d use garlic or onions. To substitute the pungent wild leeks for onions, reduce them by a third or half.
Inhabitants of Catalonia, Spain greet their spring in February and March with “calçotadas” (kal-so-tadas). Whole towns celebrate by holding gatherings where sweet, long scallion/leek-like grilled spring onions (calçots) as wide as a finger meet romesco — a thick, savory sauce made with roasted almonds and hazelnuts, garlic, chili, tomato, bread, red wine or sherry vinegars and olive oil.
This Catalonian feast requires grills filled with grapevine cuttings reduced to charcoal, where cooks grill the calçots until tender and charred. Attendees pick up char-grilled calçots wrapped in newspaper on terracotta tiles with romesco sauce. They retire to vast tables set up in the streets. Inhabitants of Catalonia know the etiquette of this delicious drill: peel away the blackened skin and dip the tender, white bulb into sauce and slide it quickly into a waiting mouth. (Bibs are useful.) As you might imagine, competitions spring up to see who can eat the most onions in an allotted time. Grilled meat, dessert, coffee and lots of convivial talk follow.
Salsa romesco (ruˈmesku) and salvitxada are tomato-based sauces that originated from Valls, province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. Non-Catalonians (like us) interchange romesco freely with salvitxada, the sauce traditionally used for calçotadas. Although similar, the main difference is that romesco employs cooked ingredients and salvitxada uses raw. No two Catalonian households use the same recipe so you’re permitted to create according to your taste.
Romesco was created in the 18th century with the Mozarabs, the Spanish Christians who lived under Muslim rule and adopted Arabic language and culture. Originally, the fishermen in this area devised the sauces for seafood. Nowadays Catalonians use romesco sauce in so many ways that it is sometimes called Spanish ketchup. Its bold flavor and vibrant color lend it endless appeal. Use romesco to flavor and thicken stews, especially seafood stews, grilled vegetables or fish, roasted poultry, pasta and as a dip for bread or appetizers.
Although spring arrives later in northern Michigan, there is no need to wait to celebrate. Local grocery stores carry a respectable calçot stand-in like baby leeks. You may be especially daring and sub with our hot and spicy wild leeks. Start your own spring ritual. It is guaranteed to wash away the winter blues. Call it a wild rampada, a leekout or a scallaloo. Invite friends over to prepare some bounty from your local grocery, backyard or woods. Prepare romesco and grill vegetables and meat then do as the Catalonians do: eat, drink, talk (a lot) and be merry.
Romesco Sauce
Spanish cooks typically incorporate dried, rehydrated ñora peppers into romesco; dried ancho chilies are a good substitute. You can find numerous recipes for romesco sauce. This is one tasty version. If you can only find dried tomatoes, soak them in hot water 30 minutes before using.
— Adapted from Melissa Clark, New York Times
Yields 6 servings
1 large ripe tomato, halved around the middle
Optional: 1 small slice artisan white bread like ciabatta, about 3/4 ounce, toasted and torn
1/4 C. plus 2 tablespoons blanched whole almonds
1/4 C. hazelnuts
2 T. pine nuts (or hazelnuts)
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 to 1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil
6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and lightly chopped
2 T. red wine vinegar, more to taste
1 t. smoked sweet paprika (pimentón)
3/4 t. salt, more to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roast tomato halves, cut side down in baking dish until wrinkled and tender, 20 to 30 minutes, then peel.
Spread bread, almonds, hazelnuts and pine nuts on separate baking pans. Toast bread and nuts until golden, 5 to 12 minutes. Pine nuts will toast quickly so watch them carefully. (You may also roast them in a toaster oven.) Wrap hazelnuts in paper towel while hot and rub together to remove as much brown skin as possible. Cool bread and nuts.
Slice 2 garlic cloves in half crosswise, and sauté in 2 tablespoons oil until golden around edges, 3 minutes.
Chop remaining 2 cloves garlic and put in a food processor along with nuts and bread; grind to a powder. Add sun-dried tomatoes and process until tomatoes are smooth. Add cooked tomato, cooked garlic with its oil, plus vinegar, paprika, salt and cayenne and process until smooth.
With machine running, slowly drizzle in 1/4-cup olive oil. Taste and add more salt, vinegar or oil, if necessary. If mixture is too thick (it should be the consistency of mayonnaise), drizzle in 3 to 4 tablespoons warm water. (You can make sauce up to 5 days ahead and refrigerate.)
Serve this rich, delicious sauce with a pile of grilled vegetables and meat like flank steak.