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Ramps

Spring Ramps Recipes (Part One): Ramps, Morels, and Fresh Peas with Poached Eggs

Ramps, a remarkable member of the onion and garlic family, only emerge for a few weeks each year, and it is a time I await with much anticipation.  Ramps are wild leeks, and their flavor is a beautiful combination of spring garlic and mild sweet onion.  They look a little bit like scallions with wispier, more tapered leaves.  The whole ramp is edible, and can be sauteed, roasted, grilled, or eaten raw.  If you ask me, they are just a perfect ingredient.

Many people advise that ramps can be prepared in any way you might use green onions, but I think ramps are too delicate and have too spectacular a flavor to take a back seat.  My favorite way to eat ramps is in simple preparations that don’t contain too many competing flavors.

Since ramps only come around for a short period of time, I tend to go on a “ramp”age.  When I found them at Russo’s market in Watertown, MA, one of my favorite places to shop for food, I bought out most of their inventory, and intend to eat them in almost all of the meals I prepare at home over the next week.  For that reason, this will be a three part post that offers three different preparations of this special vegetable.

The first preparation is an aggressively seasonal dish that glorifies all things strictly available in Spring.  It is a simple but wonderfully comforting an delicious dish that works for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  The fresh morels add a wonderful richness to the dish that works so well with the garlicky punch of the ramps, but any fresh wild mushroom, like chanterelles or oyster mushrooms, would also work well.  So hit up the early season farmer’s market or your favorite specialty foods store and pick up a huge bunch of ramps, because once you try this dish, you will be ready for parts 2 and 3 of this post! Don’t wait, though, because you will miss this precious season!

Ingredients:

• 10-12 fresh ramps, cleaned and cut into diagonal strips
• 3-4 oz. of fresh morel mushrooms, cut in half lengthwise
• 1/4 cup fresh peas, removed from pod
• 2 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• Shaved Pecorino Romano cheese to taste
• 2 slices of good toast (I prefer sourdough)
• 4 farm fresh eggs
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Season well with salt and blanch the potatoes for about 5 minutes or until they are cooked to al dente.  Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon  and set aside.  In the same boiling water, blanch the peas for 1-2 minutes.  Remove and set aside.

Prepare a pot for poaching the eggs by bringing at least two inches of water to a boil and then reducing the heat to low.  Keep on low until you are ready to poach the eggs.

In a saucepan, heat the butter and oil over medium heat.  Add the potatoes and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and let caramelize for about 5 minutes.  Add the ramps and saute for another two minutes, tossing or stirring frequently.  Add the peas and remove the pan from the heat.

In the last 5 minutes, put your bread in the toaster and poach your eggs.  For great poaching technique, see our Yukon hash post.

Assemble the dish but placing the toast on the bottom, topping with the sauteed vegetables.  Add two poached eggs, garnish with the shaving of Pecorino Romano cheese.  Crack fresh black pepper of the dish and serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Tags: Ramps, Spring