Ramps: The Topic

[monavano]

  dave harper said:

I found ramps today at the local Whole Foods. Anybody have any favorite ways to use these?  thanks

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I'm inspired to reproduce a ramp soup that I had last spring at a local restaurant. It was the first time I'd had ramps, and I found it to be nutty and artichoke-like.

I found a recipe on Emerils site for ramp soup and hopefully, if I find ramps tommorow, I'll be making it!

http://www.emerils.com/recipes/by_name/gri..._ramp_soup.html

[eatrustic]

My favourite use of ramps is based on a dish I had at Grammercy Tavern one Spring a few years back. It uses all the ingredients that are signatures of Spring : Fresh Halibut with sauteed Ramps, Baby Asparagus and Morels in a light Beurre Blanc sce.

One of my favourite dishes ever!

[rlibkind]

  eatrustic said:

Fresh Halibut with sauteed Ramps, Baby Asparagus and Morels in a light Beurre Blanc sauce.

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Yum! Ramps and seafood can be an excellent combination. I served them with sauteed sea scallops last weekend.

[snowangel]

Ramps are here! My kids were so excited. Between my best friend and me, we pretty much wiped out the supply at Mississippi Market.

Grilled, with grilled zucchini, some so-so tomatoes, and some awesome homemade chicken sausages.

Daily sightings of ramps to come at our house!

[Gifted Gourmet]

We had our own little local discussion on Ramps of the Southeast right here, ya'll!

[rlibkind]

Here are the ramps on sale Saturday at Iovine's Produce at Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market:

[Smithy]

Snowangel, I'm so jealous. I made a special trip into town today, thinking they must surely have arrived at the Whole Foods Coop by now. No such luck. The produce manager said a couple of weeks ago that they were due - just about now - with my luck, it'll be while we're out of town.

[kiliki]

I rode the bus home from work the other day with 4 bunches of ramps in my bag. The smell was intense-it was oozing out of my bag despite my efforts-and my fellow passengers must have wondered what that smell was. My boyfriend looked very dubious when he smelled them and I informed him that would be in our dinner. In pasta with pancetta, however, he agreed they were very good. I only wish I had cooked them less-I found recipes with a wide range of cooking times and techniques (blanching was common), and next time I'll opt for just sauteeing them for a few minutes.

[snowangel]

  rlibkind said:

Here are the ramps on sale Saturday at Iovine's Produce at Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market:

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Bob, beautiful and a lot of ramps. Can I ask how much per bunch? We're running $2.99/bunch.

Our ramps (I'll try and remember to take a pic of them before cooking tomorrow when I get more) have a purplishing tinge where the bulb meets the leaf.

Saturday and Sunday nights, we had tangles of grilled wild ramps done on the grill.

Tonight was very cool and rainy, and made me do the yearly treat --- wild ramp and anchovy pizza.

This is a wonderful use of ramps.

The kids and I are talking about a Asian-inspired stir fry tomorrow night using ramps and some sort of meat.

[rlibkind]

  snowangel said:

Bob, beautiful and a lot of ramps.  Can I ask how much per bunch?  We're running $2.99/bunch.

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Iovine's is a bit more expensive: $3.95 for a bunch of about 10. These also tend to be purplish where the root meets the leaves. Iovine's prices at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia tend to be very good, and are almost always less expensive than supermarkets for produce of better quality. But when it comes to some specialty items like ramps, which you aren't going to find in many other places, their margins accelerate.

Ramp and anchovy pizza! Wow! That's a superior combination, as evidenced by your photo. Beautiful to behold. And not a pizza for wimps.

[jackal10]

Ramps growing in the woods next to my house in UK. Not even I can eat that many...

[Smithy]

  jackal10 said:

Ramps growing in the woods next to my house in UK. Not even I can eat that many...

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That's beautiful. I love the extravagant growth of ramp leaves, compared to their cultivated cousins. It's even prettier in the woods, judging by your photos.

What kind of soil and conditions do they like? I understand they grow in northern Minnesota but I'm not sure where in the forest to look (high and dry? swampy? sun?). I haven't gotten around to asking our local extension agent yet.

[rlibkind]

  jackal10 said:

Ramps growing in the woods next to my house in UK. Not even I can eat that many...

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Definitely something to be said for country living!

[Ktepi]

I just added a ramp -- just one -- to the filling for six deviled ducks' eggs (that is, three eggs, six halves), and it's a very nice combination. The flavor is still very pronounced, but without being overwhelming despite the fact that the ramp is raw. With two ramps, I think it'd be right at that edge of "deviled egg as a vehicle for ramps," like when you drown a piece of toast in jam -- so I may do that tomorrow.

[bavila]

I made a spring onion and potato soup tonight based on a Saveur recipe. Used leeks, ramps, yellow onions, and spring onions. Couldn't think of how I'd use the ramp greens so I threw them out. Wish I'd read through this first!

[binkyboots]

having found an incredible ramp patch the other day I'm going to be making ramp pesto tonight!

mmm.. garlicky.

[Busboy]

Bought and ate ramps for the first time last Sunday, a very good soup with cream, potatoes and bacon.

Anybody feel a little odd paying five bucks for a scrawny little hank of weeds? You'd think hillbilly sould food would be a little less pricey -- something along the lines of cress, which comes in nice size bags for a few bucks.

[Pontormo]

I felt the same way at the same market, especially since I was shopping close to an hour before everything was about to shut down and there were still piles of ramps left on the table.

However, I was standing next to a chef who picked up a bunch ruefully and complained to his friend that he would have to pay $25 a pound to his distributor. He thought the ones at the market were a steal. The stand was taking advantage of the fact that it was offering a unique product that is around for a short time.

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Actually, I had logged on to post this linkto the Web site for Babbo where ramps are the featured produce for the month and Batali offers a recipe.

The site inspired me to make spaghetti carbonara with ramps which was delicious.

Cf. Post #53 here regarding risotto with ramps.

[jackal10]

  Smithy said:

What kind of soil and conditions do they like?  I understand they grow in northern Minnesota but I'm not sure where in the forest to look (high and dry? swampy? sun?).  I haven't gotten around to asking our local extension agent yet.

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Its a heavy alkaline clay, fairly damp. The wood is an old wood, mostly coppiced hazel and elm scrub.

[Pontormo]

Last night I used almost two bunches to make Scalloped potatoes with ramps.

Since ramps were growing this past weekend in West Viriginia, there may be some parts of the world where they are still available. If you are lucky enough to live in one of these places, I urge you to try the recipe. The smell of the dish as it bakes in the oven!!!!! Lilacs, the scent of the earth and the air after rain first soaks budding leaves and now, ramps stewing in the oven are the true intoxicants of spring.

I left the red skins on potatoes cut on a mandoline and sliced the entire ramp to accommodate seven layers in a compact casserole with high sides. Each layer was sprinkled with fresh thyme and just a little Gruyere, leaving the uppermost layer plain. I boiled the chicken stock, using more than requested given the fact that there was very little heavy cream in the fridge. I am glad that was the case, since the alteration of proportions resulted in a rich, earthy dish that wasn't too heavy.

Really, one of the best things I have eaten in this year of trying new foods. The crust on the top, the crust...

[snowangel]

'Tis ramp season again; these come from Wisconsin, and they are beautiful. So tonight, given the 81 degrees (shorts weather, finally), burgers on the grill, topped with knots of grilled ramps.

Spectacular!

[maggiethecat]

I bought twelve bunches of ramps at the Byward market for $5.00 (CDN.) I've never handled the little chaps before and I wanted to make sure that we cook the green part, as per scallions, not just the white bits as per leeks.

A risotto, I think.

[snowangel]

Maggie, the green part is wonderful! (They are also very good on pizza)

[Smithy]

I bought my first batch of ramps last night and grilled them, along with asparagus, as an accompaniment for my steak. (I drizzled the asparagus and ramps with olive oil before grilling.) After grilling I cut the asparagus and the ramps into bite-sized pieces, tossed them with a vinaigrette and drizzled a bit of balsamic vinegar as a finishing touch. Pretty darned good.

[Pontormo]

  maggiethecat said:

I bought twelve bunches of ramps at the Byward market for $5.00 (CDN.) I've never handled the little chaps before and I wanted to make sure that we cook the green part, as per scallions, not just the white bits as per leeks.

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Let me get this straight...12 bunches for a total of 5 Canadian dollars and not $5 each? Round here, the price has risen to $5 a bunch, $10 for 3 at the farmer's market (one vendor only) or $15 a pound at the only fancy supermarket that carries them. (Whole Foods has been cutting back on most of its fancy/trendy ingredients while moving towards the packaged/ready-for-the-oven crowd. No ramps this year thus far.)

Maggie, since you've got a whole mess, I do recommend the scalloped potatoes (see my alterations above) which I made again this year. While I prefer pasta or potatoes over risotto, if you go with the rice, sauté the sliced bulbs only at the beginning as if they were shallots, before you add the rice. Sliver the greens, but reserve until your risotto is almost, but not quite done. Then add them.

Scroll up and look at the Babbo site. Generally, you separate the bulbs from leaves, but incorporate both parts in your dish. Bulbs take to a good chicken stock (and butter) like fish to aromatic, winy broth.

If the ramps are small, thanks to cold weather, the flavor is not going to be as overwhelming as reputation would have it. They're more like the man behind the curtain. Flavorful, but not like fistfuls of garlic. If the weather's hot and the ramps got big and leaves a bit tough, then the impact will be more potent.

Snowangel, that looks glorious.