My little ramp patch is putting forth so I harvested a very few leaves. I'd love to use the bulbs too--but then there'd be fewer ramps next year. When I find fresh ramps for sale, I buy them and eat a few and plant the rest--which is why I have a ramp patch in the first place. Someday someone may be able to harvest more freely here . . .
But not yet. I'd like to see them all crowded before I remove any. So just a few leaves went into last night's supper.
I sautéed diced pancetta with garlic to ramp up, as it were, the flavor of the ramps. Then some sliced mushrooms, a bit of butter, and the julienned ramp leaves, along with a grind or two of salt.
I used whole wheat spaghetti--which has come a very long way from the early cardboard-flavored versions, and stirred in the pancetta/mushroom/ramp mixture, along with a bit more butter and some grated parmesan. It was tasty, quick, and easy. If you don't have ramps, just use more garlic. A green salad on the side along with some red wine . . . yeah, boy!
