All Ramped Up...

 

Ramps...

Aren't they some wild plant that fancy chefs serve 

in their high-falutin' restaurants?   

Grilled ramps with sauteed morels 

over pan seared halibut...  

Braised ramps with leg of lamb...  

Ramp biscuits...  

Apparently ramps are a springtime delicacy 

which are available 

for a very short span of time...  

Not sure if they are as scarce

 as those elusive morel mushrooms...  

Have you ever tasted a morel?  

Cooked up proper, they are fungi heaven...  

The first time I sampled these 

strange looking mushrooms

was over twenty years ago 

in Southern Indiana...  

A dear friend invited me to road trip south

to visit one of her best friends 

for a weekend of horseback riding 

and good eating...  

Along with some picturesque rides in the woods,

 near the same quarry where they filmed "Breaking Away", 

we had a lot of fun 

and we ate amazing food... 

 

Apparently in Southern Indiana, 

you can find morels by the bucketful 

and in those days, 

they were fifteen dollars a pound...

Pricey then and crazy expensive now... 

Someone told me they thought it cost closer to fifty bucks 

to get a pound of morels these days...  

Holy Crackers!  

I think the morels cost more than the pot 

that was being prolifically traded down there...  

Anyway, Mary Jane, (no pun intended) 

knew her way around a kitchen...  

She had her own chickens before it was cool 

to have a coop

and I learned how delicious 

a fresh egg tastes...  

But her morels...  

Good Lord, they were divine...  

She would wash and dry them thoroughly 

before dredging the mushrooms in flour...  

She then sauteed those spongy little morsels

 in pools of foaming butter 

with a little salt and pepper...  

Simple and scrumptious...  

Wait, I was talking about ramps, wasn't I?    

A couple of weeks ago, a foodie friend 

posted that she was making a special dinner with ramps...

I was impressed with her culinary abilities 

and also with her courage for cooking 

with a little known ingredient...  

Ramps look like the leaves from Lily of the Valley plants, 

but they apparently have an onion-y flavor...  

Fast forward to this weekend 

and a neighbor dropped by 

to give me a bag of ramps! 

She saw them at the farmer's market 

and thought I might like them..  

How sweet!  

Oh no....

Now I had to figure out how 

to make the most of these unique veggies!  

A few quick clicks on the Internet and, 

thanks to Food52 

 I found this recipe for Ramp Pesto...  

It is a very simple recipe; 

ramps, olive oil, walnuts, salt, pepper 

and a squirt of lemon... 

The recipe was easy 

and I boiled a pot of rotini pasta 

to try the pesto out...  

It was light, onion-y and a nice change 

from the traditional pesto 

with pine nuts and basil...  

The ramps made a lot of pesto, 

so I think I might use it for grilled bruschetta next...  

Ramps may not be worth their weight in gold, 

like morels, but they are certainly a seasonal treat 

to be experienced...