ramps



ramps & roasted garlic




my neighbor enlightened me (thank you, leon) this week and shared with me one of his favorite ingredients; ramps. we fixed a healthy meal with relatively few ingredients in under a half hour.  i had never cooked with ramps before but fell in love with the vibrant color in the stems and pure white bulbs at the base of the stalk.  ramp season is short lived so when you see them, pick 'em up and incorporate them into your favorite dish. this garlicky tasting member of the onion family is actually classified as a wild leek so we treated it as such.  we sauteed them with mushrooms, olive oil, a little chicken stock and pulled the dish together with some brown rice pasta and roasted garlic. 

prep time: 10 mins
cook time: 20 mins
ingredients:

• 1 bunch ramps (trim the base of the root, rinse thoroughly and wash off any excess dirt) 


• 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced


• 1/2 cup chicken stock


• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese


• 2 bulbs roasted garlic


• 1 lb brown rice pasta


• salt & pepper to taste


• 1/8 teaspoon roasted red pepper flakes

pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  cut off the tip of the larger end of a head of garlic.  drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. crunch it up in tin foil and bake for 30-40 minutes.  when done, garlic can be squeezed from the clove and will mash easily.
next, put a large pot of water on to boil and salt it generously.  in a separate heavy bottomed pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and add mushrooms.  let mushrooms cook on medium and add a little chicken stock if the pan gets dry.  once water comes to a rolling boil, add in the pasta and cook per the instructions. when cooking is complete and pasta is al dente, drain it and run cold water over it.  brown rice pasta can get a little pasty so you want to rinse it thoroughly and then drizzle over a little olive oil so it doesn't stick together.  
your mushrooms should be about done at this point.  season with salt and pepper and add pasta and ramps to the pan.  slowly incorporate the chicken stock and let the ramp stems wilt.  combined mixture should cook for about 12 minutes all together.  during this time, layer in the ricotta cheese, more salt and pepper, a few of the roasted garlic cloves and the roasted red pepper flakes.  once all ingredients have simmered together, you'll have a creamy, earthy tasting dish that will leave your belly warmed and your conscience guilt-free.
enjoy the remainder of the roasted garlic on a few slices of crusty bread.