This post is part of fellow book blogger, Beth Fish Reads‘, weekly meme (a “community” blog post, for all those non-bloggers out there) called Weekend Cooking.
It’s “ramp season” – as is obvious at any farmer’s market and on many restaurant “specials” menus! What in the world are these things and why have they been everywhere lately?
Ramps are members of the onion family and are the first onions of the season to be ready for harvest. They have a strong garlicky-oniony flavor and, according to the guy at my local farmer’s market, are best brushed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and very quickly grilled (a few seconds per side).
I tried this method recently on an indoor, cast iron grill pan…they were good, but I think they would have benefited from being on an outdoor grill with some fire. My favorite way of having ramps has actually been in soup! A bakery (Flourish Baking Company out of Scarsdale, NY) that comes to my farmer’s market makes delicious soups that it sells frozen by the quart and pint…and their Wild Ramp and Fennel Soup is delicious!
I also recently saw ramps on a pizza! Polpettina in Larchmont, NY recently had a ramps, ricotta, and lemon “special” pizza. I sadly didn’t try it, but wish I did!
If you’re interested in trying ramps, get them while you can because their season is only March – May!
PS – do I get props for not writing about fish this week? Finally – but I absolutely cannot guarantee fish won’t be back next week!
We have been collecting wild ramps every spring for decades. We use them in soup, put them on pizza, and saute them with other veggies for a side dish or as part of a stir-fry. We grill them and roast them. We love them! Fun to see that they’ve become more mainstream in the last few years.
Ha! On the lack of fish. But ramps with pan-fried trout is pretty yummy.
YUM – ramps and trout! I love trout – will have to try that combination! Fun that you have wild ramps where you are!
Ha! I was going to suggest ramps with grilled fish, too. Will have to see if I can find some at the farmers market this morning.
I don’t think I have ever tried ramps, but I sure have heard a lot about them in recent years. I’ll have to look for them.
I don’t think we have ramps here in New Zealand – a pity. Cheers from Carole’s Chatter
Maybe not, but you have so many other delicious things! My favorite thing I had when I visited were the green lipped mussels…gorgeous to look at and to eat!
I’ve never tried ramps before, but I’ll certainly give them a try if I find some at the farmer’s market. Both the grilled version you tried and the soup sounds good.
I’ve always wanted to try ramps, but sadly we can’t get them here. They look delicious.
What a timely post. I’ve been hearing a lot about ramps recently. I’ll have to look for them at the farmer’s market.
Pretty interesting post and so odd that I’ve never even heard of ramps. Will have to look next week at the market. Maybe they don’t grow here in the Midwest.