Ramps II: The Wild Leek

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Reading the history of the ramp was very interesting. They are common across the eastern United States and Canada. In fact there are many festivals and celebrations marking ramp season. 

The Native Americans used ramps in their cuisine as well as their Medicine. The Cherokee used them as a spring tonic for colds and croup. The Iroquios used them to treat worms in children and as a “clean-out”. It was also used to treat insect stings.  

Do you remember,  in the book Holes, the wild onions were what kept Stanley and Zero safe from the venomous lizards? Some legends hold that the ramp has almost magical powers. 

So, with my two bunches of ramps I made the noodles I told you about last time, then I made a ramp pesto, which may have been my favorite application. With the second bunch, I did Instant Pot Pasta, but I made a few changes. I didn’t use onions, garlic or bell peppers, just a whole bunch of ramps cleaned and chopped along with the mushrooms. I really wanted the ramps to be the star, so I didn’t add the meat or the herbs. The pasta shape I chose was Bucatini. It is like a fat spaghetti and holds up well in the Instant Pot. For the liquid I just used instant broth and white wine. I did use the Asiago and followed the recipe instructions, otherwise. 


The ramps were definitely the star. Their flavor was very strongly onion and garlic, but was a little similar to the flavor of a very strong leek. I decided then that I really needed to compare them to leeks. 

So tonight I did a similar thing. I sautéed a chopped up leek with mushrooms and put them on top of a baked potato. The flavors were similar but the ramp is definitely stronger in flavor than the leek. The leek was tougher, too and required more cooking time. 

All this experimenting led me to the conclusion that the ramp is delicious and I will have them again when they are in season. Their flavor has a wild note and I can understand how they got the reputation for being magic!

But until their back, I need to eat more leeks‼


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