I must confess that I know nothing about ramps. They appeared in the market over the weekend. A quick search call them 'wild leeks' and are described as having a strong onion-garlic flavor. They look like Lilies of the Valley. What dish do you make with ramps?
This is a very good, easy recipe that I make a few times a season:
http://www.babbonyc.com/recipe-spagh-...
There are other threads on this subject here. Like these:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/701664
I have this one saved:
One of the threads erica linked to ( http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/511085 ) has some good ones. Personally, we've loved the Ramp Crepes, Ramp Risotto, and Ramp Frittata.
Good luck and enjoy.
I did a wonderful ramp dish this weekend featuring other early spring produce.
1 bunch baby asparagus
5 or 6 morels
1 bunch ramps
2 tbs. Olive oil
Cut woody ends off asparagus. Cut the rest into 3/4" pieces. Saute over medium heat in a large skilled. Cut the whitelpurple parts of the ramps into 3/4" pieces. Make a chiffonade of the leaves. Add the sliced ramps to the asparagus.
Cut the morels into 3/4 inch pieces. Add to ramp/asparagus mixture and stir for a minute or two. Add ramp leaf chiffonade, and season with salt and pepper.
Remove from heat when chiffonade is wilted and serve.
I love these pickled ramps as part of a pub lunch. I knock the sugar down to 1/4 cup when I make them. http://www.food52.com/recipes/4164_pi...
Nice recipe. Is it really necessary to boil the ramps for 1 minute though if you are later pouring the boiling mixture over them?
I don't know - it might mellow them a little. The only other thing I pickle is red onion, so I'm not much of an expert. I did try another pickled ramp recipe last year (Momofuku) which also says to blanch them "if they are more mature." (I didn't like the Momofuku results - the brine is super sweet.)
I just did a carbonara-type pasta dish with my first ramps of the season - it was truly fantastic.
l did some of my medical training in West Virginia a long time ago. Got there during ramp season, never forgot it. People standing on the side of the road selling grocery bags of ramps for a dollar or two a bag, dirt had to be on the roots or no one would buy them. Schools closed a few days in the beginning of the season as it smelled too badly for them. The recipe l learned there was taught to me at a ramp festival in Charleston, WV. Blanch a bunch of cleaned ramps with bottom of root bulb cut off. After blanching cook in bacon fat till done, 3-4 minutes, put a little salt and eat. No other recipe l have had shows their nature better.
Olive oil, salt & pepper and then throw them on the grill. Easy and oh so delicious.
I've made a quiche with them. A quick saute in olive oil. Custard, some swiss cheese and a savory pie crust. Big hit.
Ramp pesto freezes nicely, too.
I'm pickling the white and red parts this weekend. I'll save the green tops and probably make some pesto out of them. It's really good.
@danna - $20/lb seriously??? ouch that hurts. I just bought a large amount this morning at the greenmarket for pickling. I got just over 3 lbs for about $30 (they were $3 a bunch and 10 bunches put me over 3 lbs that I need for pickling).
yeah, $20/lb. the sad part is, they were....sad. I had to carefully pick through them at WF to get ones that weren't going a little limp/scraggley.
At the tailgate market in Western North Carolina this weekend, I'm sure they had some beauties, but there either were none, or none left by the time I got there at noon. Strange, huh?
I guess I never even looked at a place like WF for them. And I think they've just become so known now plus the short season all adds up to them disappearing quickly. When I went to get the ones for pickling, I went to the greenmarket around 9 a.m. I suppose we must all learn now the "early bird ... " adage!
"I had to carefully pick through them at WF to get ones that weren't going a little limp/scraggley."
I bought a couple of bunches the other day that had some "limp/scraggly" leaves; it couldn't be avoided as all the bunches had some of these types of leaves. Once I chopped them up and sauteed them though, you would never had know they were "limp/scraggly." Unless they are out and out mushy and obviously past their prime, I wouldn't worry too much about those "limp/scraggly" leaves in the future. :)
Made pesto last night. Was my first time ever using ramps. A blog online suggested that a short cook would mellow the flavor some (and keep you from being a pariah the next day). So, I cleaned the ramps, cooked the bulb/stem a bit in a bunch of olive oil, then tossed in the leaves quickly, then made pest out of them (omit the garlic). I added some lemon. Was delicious!
As a ramp lover I have been celebrating them this season in every way possible. I have sauteed, grilled, fried, pickled, dehydrated and made stock from the roots. Waste no part of them.
One of my favorites of the season was the ramp butter,
1lb ramps
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 lb butter
3/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
kosher salt to taste
thinly slice white bits (keep the greens and roots for other recipes)
combine wine, vinegar, lemon juice on a med heat in a nonreactive saucepan and lower heat and reduce till pan is almost dry. Now add butter a bit at a time and whisking as you go. Season with salt to taste.
I served this with home made tagliatelle, black pepper and Parmesan.
Stock
Boil roots with one onion
Them made asparagus soup with it - how seasonal!
Used my dehydrator in an attempt to preserve a taste of spring (just the green bits)
Pickled the white parts
1st salt bath the ramps
Boil
apple cider vinegar 1qt
mustard seeds 1tsp
celery seeds 1 tsp
kosher salt
sugar 1/2 cup
add ramps for 5 min them place in sterile pickling jar
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