Ramps are a member of the Allium family which includes onions and garlic. They are a wild variety of onion and often referred to as “wild leeks” and are only available for a short period in the spring. Ramps are typically foraged, like truffles, and have been known to incite riots at farmers’ markets. They appear on gourmet and “farm to table” restaurant menus here in the Northeast for a few weeks. Ramp’s native territory is in the east from Georgia to Canada.
If you can find ramps at all in NYC, they sell for over $20 a pound and sell out immediately. Whole Foods here in Connecticut were selling them three weeks ago for $14.95 a pound which was actually not too bad. You could also order five pounds here for $179 which includes Overnight S&H. Yet I got five pounds for $32 which equals to $6.40 a pound. If you make it to the end of this diary, I’ll tell you my secret.
Below is part of my five pound package that arrived through the mail in two days from West Virginia. The seller does not clean the ramps as he states they stay fresher that way and provides extra to make up for it.
There are several different ways of preparing ramps. I start by filling a pan of ramps with water. I pick up each ramp one at a time and first trim the end of the leaves if needed.
Next, I pull down the outer skin to the roots
Then cut off the roots and outer skin
this was the water when I finished the first round
Now you can see why I clean ramps outdoors as I am bit sloppy with the trimmings
and it goes much faster this way
These ramps were put to the side and later planted in three locations in the woods next to my yard. A waitress at a “farm to table” restaurant shared that she took some home a few years back and now has her own plot. She said they were easy to grow and took right off. I’m afraid my shade might be too dry but I can reach them with the water hose to keep them moist this first year.
This was the first batch ready to go to the kitchen for more washing
I washed them two more times
and finally used a salad spinner to get the remaining water off
here are two containers full of ready-to-use ramps
We were on Route 7 driving through the Berkshire Mountains last month when we passed a “gourmet-to-go” roadside stand. The lines were extremely long and judging by the license plates, it appeared to be a local crowd, instead of New York weekenders. We decided to go back and P got in line while I stayed in the car with the dogs. I kept texting P “when are you coming?” The sandwiches were great but what made the forty-minute wait worth it were the order of French fries that we split! We never get fries but P said everyone in line kept talking about them. Incredible fries with a topping of ramp pesto, mushrooms, Pecorino Romano cheese and slivers of white cheddar. How unusual! We both flipped over them and talked about them all day. I realized that I had not bought any ramps yet and it was nearing the end of the season.
So when we got back home that night, I quickly ordered five pounds and they were delivered in two days. I “pried-my-hands-open” and with a fake smile shared a few ramps with two different neighbors and bogarted the rest. My favorite ramp dish is made with eggs, ham, gruyere cheese and whole ramps for a real breakfast treat
P is the chef and made some wonderful ramp pesto the first day
The ramp pesto was excellent on panini with grilled tomato, onion and cheese with spinach leaves served on a plate from a friend (the plate was an inside joke).
For dinner, we had orecchiette pasta with mussels, shrimp, the onion part of the ramps and ramp pesto. Perfection.
Next day’s lunch was chicken salad with the ramp pesto and avocado, arugula and Manchego cheese (this was mine)
and P had ramp pesto in a frisée and arugula salad with Manchego cheese and octopus. (I wouldn’t touch this one with a ten-foot pole)
for dinner that night, orzo pasta with chicken and Parmigiano-Reggiano, grilled green beans, oyster mushrooms, zucchini, red peppers and whole ramps
grilled portobello mushroom with tomato, arugula and of course ramp pesto
roasted pork carnitas, red peppers, scallions, onions and merquen in a soft taco with grilled vegetables — carrots, Brussel sprouts, green beans, mushrooms and whole ramps
We also used ramp leaves as lettuce on sandwiches. We ate ramps for every meal for about five days and then were down to just the remainder of the pesto. I look forward to the next season and a drive up Route 7 to the “gourmet-to-go” roadside stand for their killer French fries!
Nutrition Facts
Ramps are low in calories (about 50 per cup) filled with vitamins like A and C. Members of the Allium family are also known for their antioxidant content as well as their ability to help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
As a side note, I turned a coworker friend on to ramps a couple of years ago. He has since discovered a patch close to his house and shares some but won’t provide the location! I’m currently using aerial maps and drones but have yet to locate them.
Okay - shhhh…. my secret for getting ramps at $6.40 a pound ~ eBay! There are several sellers there but I have been faithful to a farmer in West Virginia for about four years now. He always gives me extra.
This morning I went to take a photograph of the ramps that I had planted in the woods but they had all disappeared. I have to assume that they had already yellowed and gone dormant. I couldn’t imagine an animal getting them ….. oh wait, I bet it was my neighbors, those animals, because of me being stingy with them! Could they have used flashlights at night to find them? Could ramps cause a riot on my road!?!
I know that I’ve made you hungry now but do tell what is going on in your garden and world this holiday weekend.