Illustration by Kristy Heilenday
History
It’s trendy now, but Native Americans have enjoyed this bright and pungent vegetable for centuries; Cherokee tribes taught settlers how to identify and harvest them throughout Appalachia, where the mountains grow lush with ramps for just a few weeks each spring. High in minerals and vitamins A and C, ramps were used for tonics in addition to sustenance.
What to Buy
Unless you’re heading to the hills to forage them yourself, chances are, you’ll find bunches of them at your local farmers market. You’re looking for vibrant, unmarred leaves and stems that haven’t wilted. (And don’t let a little dirt deter you; that just means they’re fresh from the ground.) At home, clean them and gently dry them, then store them loosely covered in the refrigerator until use.
How to Prepare
Use them in lieu of scallions and even garlic, slicing, dicing and sautéing them as you would any other allium. Try them roasted, puréed or grilled whole. They also are great pickled and in cocktails, just as they are minced and in sauces, dumplings and salads. Just be sure to wash them thoroughly first.
Ramp and Sunchoke Soup
Serves 4
By Josh Wright of Pop’s Market on Grace
1 pound sunchokes, scrubbed clean and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 pounds ramps, cleaned, with root tips removed
1/4 pound prosciutto
1/2 cup olive oil
4 eggs
Flat leaf parsley, for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste
Place the sunchokes in a medium-sized pot and add water to roughly 1 inch above them. Add a generous pinch of salt, and bring to a simmer. Once the sunchokes become tender, about 10 minutes, hold the ramps by the greens and submerge the bulbs in the pot, about 1 minute, then fully submerge the ramps for an additional 90 seconds. Remove from heat and strain over a large bowl, reserving the cooking liquid. Remove two dozen ramps and sever their bulbs from the greens, adding the greens back to the pile of sunchokes and other ramps. Wrap the bulbs and the smallest pieces of sunchoke twice with prosciutto pieces, then set on a nonstick baking sheet. Add the bowl of sunchokes and ramps to a blender, and pulse with 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Add liquid until the mixture reaches a smooth but thick consistency. Toward the end of blending, slowly incorporate the olive oil. Return to the pot and heat on low, thinning with cooking liquid as needed. Broil the prosciutto-wrapped vegetables until crispy, 3 to 4 minutes. In a separate pot, poach the eggs in the simmer water with a splash of white vinegar and pinch of salt. Ladle the soup into bowls and place an egg and prosciutto-wrapped vegetables atop each. Garnish with whole parsley leaves, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
