Cooking with Wild Ramps

  in Blog

If you’ve taken a stroll in the woods lately, you might have noticed a plant with floppy green leaves that looks a little like lily of the valley. For gourmands and foragers, the arrival of this spring delicacy, the wild ramp, is like winning a prize after a long winter of fresh, wild food deprivation.

Ramps, or wild leeks, are highly pungent and smell like a cross between onion and garlic. They are a wonderful, wild delicacy, especially prized by foodies and chefs alike. Ramps add a delicious flavor profile to dishes and can be used as you would scallions and leeks. Sauté them, add to stir fries, serve them with eggs, pickle them, add them to soups…the possibilities are many.

Picking ramps – In light of how popular foraging has become recently, we recommend not harvesting the entire plant including the bulb. Instead, we recommend snipping a few leaves from each plant. That way the plant can still grow and will be there the following year. (Photo above was taken before we learned best practices.)

Here are a few recipes for using up your wild ramp catch:

Bacon, Tomato, and Ramps Quiche

From southernfood.com

1 9-inch pie crust
6 slices bacon, diced
8 oz morel or white mushrooms
1 1/2 cups chopped ramps, white and green
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 large eggs
1 cup half-and-half
4 oz cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  1. Heat oven to 375°. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoon of the bacon drippings and reserve fat for another use. Add the mushrooms and ramps to the skillet and cook, stirring, until mushrooms are tender. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 1 minute longer. Spoon the cooked vegetables into the crust; top with the cheese.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, and nutmeg. Pour the egg mixture over the cheese layer and gently use a spoon to help the egg mixture sink into the vegetables.
  3. Set the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set and lightly browned. A knife inserted into the center should come out clean.

Ramp Compound Butter

From wildedible.com

1 lb. softened butter
1 to 2 cups ramp greens, chopped
2 Tbls freshly squeezed lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth and pack in small containers. Use just as you would garlic butter.

Potato Ramp Soup

2 cups chopped ramps, white and green parts
1 tablespoon butter
1 ½ lbs russet potatoes, peeled, cubed
4 cups chicken broth
½ teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup heavy cream
sea salt and pepper to taste

  1. Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add ramps and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add chicken broth, potatoes, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender about 15 minutes.
  3. Remove bay leaf and puree using an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.