First food from the garden

by June

My sources at the farmers’ market warned me that leeks wouldn’t over-winter in Maine. But winter caught me off-guard last year, and though I meant to harvest all those kindergarten-pencil-size leeks, I ended up tucking them under a blanket of snow.

Today, I surveyed the mush of the leek bed. It was disheartening: The stalks were frostbitten to the ground. When I tugged on one, its top layer slithered off in my hand. Still, I had to oust the remains for a spring planting. I went in gingerly with my trowel and came up with…firm, fragrant leeks -- albeit only five inches long at the most.

I soaked them clean, snipped off the roots, and layered them into a dish. I barely covered them in cream, then gave them an ample grinding of pepper and a lavish sprinkling of Maldon’s salt. After forty minutes in a 375-degree oven, those sorry little leeks had melted into the very solace of spring.

This was our first dish from the garden this year. It will be hard to top. But I’m willing to let my Ruby Gold tomatoes give it their best shot anyway.