I chopped them (with the exception of the really dark portions of the leaves which are not very tasty when raw) and added them to the herbs that I used to stuff my leg of lamb for Easter. They lent a very unusual, but delightful flavor to the meat.

I have never had them, but last weekend at a high end (not named) DC restaurant ramps were listed as an ingredient on the menu.

The waiter said that they were very strong and was not recommending that dish because the ramps overpowered the dish.

Yes, it is a good thing when the wait staff can guide you honestly.

Are ramps normally that strong?

Yes.

The favored way of preparing them when we lived in Vermont was to steam or sweat them and then bake them with a bechamel sauce.

I wound up using this recipe for Pasta with Ramps from Sally Scheider, featured on The Splendid Table. It's essentially braised ramps tossed with crushed red pepper and pasta. Very simple, quick, and the ramps are the emphasis of the dish.
I didn't have anywhere near the 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 lbs of ramps* called for in the recipe, but adjusted accordingly and it worked fine.

* That amount would have been a huge pain to clean - I think I had the same feeling DCFoodie did about cleaning fava beans.

they are not that strong at buck's fishing and camping, accompanied by unwilted spinach, asparagus and a pinch of salt. i don't know what was done to tone them down, but this is a good introduction. however, they were funkier when they popped up with something i can't remember at palena recently. i prefer the funk. i had looked forward to finding some of these at the farmer's market on sunday and cooking them with pasta, but remembered on saturday that i would not be here. there is still spring in the dessert, but if you are looking for something to eat it is most likely quail. i have never gone out for cactus.

Did anyone else read through the entire recipe and laugh when s/he got to instructions about what you're supposed to do with the bacon once it's cooked?

Yes, I did. What's "another" use? Why can't you just crumble it up and throw it back in the soup at the end? Do they think the BACON will ruin it?

I ended up reading what Elizabeth Schneider has to say about ramps, including a recipe for ramps simmered in cream and mention of Fedilia's egg custard tart with wild leeks, asparagus and morels and Mario Batali's polenta with asparagus, prosciutto and ramps.

I combined a little from all of these ideas to make a risotto, using the white and red parts in lieu of shallots and stirring in the leaves sauteed in butter and a little heavy cream at the very end along with thin strips of uncooked prosciutto.

Quite good, though the little asparagus I added was superfluous and the ramps a bit more subdued than I would have liked.

Dame Edna picked up a bunch of broccoli rabe at Dupont last week and did the same potato/garlic thing. Just delightful. And, another reason to look forward to spring.

I bought some ramps this weekend that are about the size and shape of scallions, with a bit more of a bulb. How much of the green is edible? I'm thinking of simmering with broth and serving over pasta -- any other suggestions beyond what's above?

I've been slicing them and the sauteeing in unsalted butter until soft. Then they go on top of a roasted artichoke with a sprinkling of truffle salt. Finger licking goooooood.

Go to eGullet where there's a thread or two.

Basically, you can eat the whole thing (for $5 you ought to). One of my favorites is described here somewhere (try a search with ramps and my name). Complements: potatoes and bacon or pancetta. Scalloped potatoes are really good with ramps sliced in small pieces and added in between layers. Great with carbonara or skip the egg and just sauté the sliced bulbs in EVOO & the fat from diced pancetta (thick piece). Add pancetta back to pan when pasta's almost done along with slivers of the leaves. Pour in a little stock if you want, then cream (light is fine) and combo pecorino and parmesan. (Smile at the cheese mongers at Whole Foods when you tell them Locatelli is the best Romano, what do they mean no one buys it so they're not carrying it anymore.) Restaurant Nora is serving them, I noticed, just as an accompaniment to lamb chops or steak. Braise in a little chicken stock and butter, separating the thoroughly cleaned bulbs from the greens since the former take a little longer to cook and the latter should be done in a minute or less.

I caught Mario Batalli on Martha today and they highlighted ramps. Thier ramps looked like they had plucked them from Dupont! Mario explained that the bulb gets larger as the season progresses.
Here's a link to two recipes which they made today....
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/m...0005b09a00aRCRD
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/m...0005b09a00aRCRD

Even though Pope Benedict XVI (81) can't handle spices, apparently he does ramps. Here's a recipe Lidia Bastianich developed for his recent visit to the U.S.: "The Pope's Risotto", as reported by Kim Severson, The NYT, April 23, 2008.

2 Amy's had a special pizza last week that featured roasted ramps along with sausage and parmesan. I don't know if they were thrown on the pizza raw and then cooked right on top or prepared separately, but the high heat gave them a nice grill-like char and a little olive oil worked great. They were still very pungent and crunchy, but they didn't take over the pizza. Granted, the complimenting flavors were bold in their own right--italian sausage and a heavy handed portion of grated parmesan.

I think that simple prep with some high heat really works for the little guys.

Suzanne Goin's method is to wrap the greens in foil still attached to the bulbs. She poaches the bulbs until just cooked, draping the foil-wrapped greens over the edge of the pot. When the bulbs are cooked, she unwraps the greens and briefly dips them into the boiling water. I have not tried this, but in concept, the method addresses the huge differential in cooking time between the bulb and greens rather ingeniously, keeping the ramps whole.

While Zora writes, let me add that Odessa Piper made something a bit intricate, but quite simple, at a recent chef demo that was absolutely perfect for this transitional time of year at local markets. It reminded me of what Al Dente said recently about flavoring young Tuscan kale w ramps.

She topped caramelized apple slices w goat cheese and baby spinach that she sautéed w ramps. The apple slices were first placed on wilted leaves of tender young chard that was picked before the stalks had a chance to thicken; the leaves were then wrapped around the layers to form packets and sealed w a toothpick.

Even though I didn't see anything ramp-like on leftover spinach, the flavor of the wild leek was quite discernible. The pairing was great and would be perfect beside a lamb chop or steak, mushrooms and new potatoes.

Good idear. I did something similar with some barely formed beets attached to their greens though I substituted your foil with my bare hands. A little uncomfortable, but it worked. The greens and my knuckles got slightly steamed so I guess I didn't need the brief dip you mention.

When I was growing up in Southwest Virginia, the volunteer fire department at White Top Mountain held a ramp festival every year. A ticket bought you entrance to the festival where there was music, bluegrass mostly, crafts and things for the little kids (donkey rides, etc.) But you also got a mean ticket where the lunch/dinner was a quarter of grilled chicken (over giant pits of fire), cornbread and fried potatoes and ramps. Even nowadays, my mom will get some ramps from friends or family and fry them up with some taters. Ummmm, good!!! I really hope I can find some at the farmers market this weekend . . .

Cheers,
Marshall

Go to Spring Valley Farm at the Dupont market this Sunday

I splurged and bought two bunches this week. I just used the first bunch in dinner. Now I am trying to not go sautee and eat up the second bunch instead of saving it for tomorrow's dinner.

In Ancient Egypt, the queen mates with the sun-god and thus a king is born, his reign legitimized by his divine birth.

Or hers, in the case of Hatshepsut (1473-1458 BCE), daughter of Thutmose I, who assumed the throne as both pharoah and queen.

Conforming to the architectural innovations of the New Kingdom, her funerary complex took the form of a rock-hewn tomb built into a cliff in Deir-el-Bahri, as opposed to the more familiar pyramids of the Old Kingdom that one finds in Giza.

Senenmut, the courtier who designed the complex, situated the temple at the summit of lushly gardened terraces one reached from the banks of the Nile through a processional space flanked by statues before ascending a series of ramps.

Ramps may no longer be available from Spring Valley Farm this late in the season, but if you go to Dupont Circle this Sunday, look for exquisite, fresh specimens gathered and bundled by New Morning Farm.

Not sure you want to cook them yourself? Dino's adds them to its risotto primavera.

(They'd be damn good next to a steak with crusty potatoes, too.)

Count me as part of the "still don't get it" contingent. One of my dishes at Proof on Monday featured grilled ramps*. They struck me as a less edible scallion - tough and without much flavor - truly the "Emperors New Clothes" of the allium family. Almost as if they were something found by the side of the road. I will continue forking over wads of cash for morels, strawberries, field tomatoes, and other farmer's market treats and leave the ramps to those who appreciate them.


*Same dish also featured risotto and pea shoots. A trend trifecta?

I agree completely. When I see them at the market I always think expensive scallions. I think the limited availability has a great deal to do with it.

Some of them don't have much more flavor than scallions, true. The good ones, though, have a much stronger/sharper flavor, to the point of being a little hot, and they're the ones that are worth seeking out. The best ones I've had so far this year were at Bar Pilar a couple of weeks ago - might be worth finding out where they're getting theirs.

Ramps are new to me and I really enjoyed them when they first came into season, but boy, do they get stronger as they grow. I added mature ramps to potatoes and reeked of them all night.
I've been enjoying grilling and roasting spring onions a whole lot more.

A big part of the appeal of ramps is that they are wild, and one of the earliest wild edibles to appear. If you read the article about wild food gathering in this week's WP Food Section, the subject of the article talked about the treasure hunt aspect of foraging. And the other big part of the appeal is that when you pick them yourself they are free. I agree that they are tasty when still relatively young, but have much less appeal when you have to pay a lot of money for them. I feel the same way about morels. Frankly, when they cost $35 or $40 a pound, I think they don't hold a candle in the flavor department to a chanterelle or a bolete (porcini). But if I can find them myself in the woods, there is no question about their deliciousness.

monavano--try blanching the more mature ramps before you mix them in with something else.