This post should be called "Why it's great to have chef friends!" I stopped by Haven restaurant yesterday to visit chef Stephen, and he hooked me up with a beautiful bunch of ramps (with the dirt still on the roots). For those of you that don't know, ramps are as easy to find in Atlanta as leprechauns, so this was a very lucky day for me. Ramps are much more commonly found in the Northeast than in the South.
Unfortunately, I had to travel the next day and could not eat them all fresh, so I decided to pickle them instead of letting them go to waste. Using a recipefrom Serious Eats, I had the ramps pickled in just 15 minutes and stored in my refrigerator awaiting me when I return from my travels. If you happen to stumble across ramps in your local market, I strongly urge you to pick them up and give them a try. They have a really distinct flavor that's somewhere between a green onion and garlic. As far as how to prepare them, the options are endless. You can saute, grill, or pickle ramps and they go great with just about everything.
Spring has sprung! Thanks, Stephen.
Oh, Herman, you scamp!
Posted by: JimJimJim | April 08, 2009 at 01:42 PM