Our wonderful friend Stuart popped in this afternoon with a bag of fresh-from-the-earth ramps he’d picked up at the local ramp festival near his weekend house in Milford, Pennsylvania. Dinner plans were thrown out the door and ramps went right on the menu – made a great pasta dish featuring the entire plant. Here’s what I did.
Sauteed about ½ cup of diced pancetta in extra virgin olive oil. When it started to brown, I added the sliced white bulb of the ramps. Sautéed until just soft, then I added the sliced ramp greens and a couple of handfuls of fresh garden peas. Tossed the mix into thin spaghetti which I moistened with just a touch of heavy cream. When blended, I added about ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese and a good dose of pepper. Dusted each serving with some toasted bread crumbs and served extra cheese on the side. Spring had arrived!
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