I ❤️ Ramp Season
For the third year in a row, we’ve made the 3-hour drive from Philadelphia to Equinunk, PA on a late April weekend, just to pick ramps at Delaware Valley Ramps. If you don’t know what ramps are… well you’re missing out!
Ramps are a wild version of a scallion with beautiful flat leaves, with a unique flavor that I can only describe as a milder, but more garlicky chive. They can’t be cultivated because they grow in extremely specific conditions, so the very fleeting 3-5 weeks of the year when they’re popping up from the ground is a very exciting and special time. Miss it, and you’ll have to wait another 320ish days.
We’ve gone every year to Ramp U-Pick, first because I wanted to surprise my mom for mother’s day after she mentioned wanting to try them. But we kept returning because of how fun and rewarding the whole experience is — from the peaceful drive through the winding country roads, to picking ramps from the ground, chatting with Steve, and making and eating ramps for an entire week. It’s a very special weekend for us, a joyous celebration of spring and the fleeting ramp season.
And before anyone is up in arms, yes you can harvest the entire bulb… as long as you do it right! Steve taught us how to look for mature ramps that have already spread seeds, and harvesting the entire plant sustainably has allowed his field to prosper year after year.
This year, we almost didn’t go because of Rosie — will she be okay separated from us for five whole hours? Thankfully she did well and mostly rested, and we were able to enjoy a third year of gorging on ramps.
What do we do with the ramps? I don’t really have a recipe to share. I don’t actually have any ramp recipes — for the most part, we just give ramps the spring chive treatment, to prepare them simply and enjoy the fresh aromatic flavor in all its glory.
Ramp pickles: this is part of the snacks they offer you at ramp picking, and we make some every year. It mostly sits in the back of the fridge, and we share it when friends come over.
Chive pockets, but ramps: This is probably my favorite preparation. Seasoned simply with salt, sesame oil, and white pepper, it really highlights the fresh mild aroma of ramps. Like with chives, scrambled eggs are a perfect foil. It’s just CHEFS KISS. We don’t use a recipe, but here is a reference.
Pork and chive dumplings, but — you guessed it! — with ramps: since ramps aren’t as pungent as chives, in this application the flavor of the ramps is not as pronounced or at the forefront, but it still highlights the gentle mild allium flavor of ramps well, and is a special variation of the usual to enjoy just once a year. No dipping sauce needed!
Seafood pancake, but ramps: Taking inspiration from korean haemul pajeon, the ramps are just barely held together with a little batter, and charred on high heat. Topped with lightly battered seafood, the second side gets cooked more gently, just until the seafood is cooked through.
Ramp & asparagus crustless quiche: Asparagus season coincides with ramp season, and the flavor of the two together is basically the definition of spring. I used my trusty quiche base, and didn’t bother with a crust. At the last minute, I threw some spam in from the fridge for extra umami. No ragrets.
Ramp pesto pasta: Pesto is a good application, and you can taste the flavor well, but it kind of hurts to blend up perfectly beautiful ramps. Maybe save this for the last of the ramps that is starting to wilt, or if you don’t have much to work with since it does stretch ramps farther. Pairs well with artisan mushrooms for a boost of umami, or some spring veg as garnish.
Ramp & asapragus salad: This year, we had really nice local spring asparagus, and Noah made charred ramp + blanched asparagus, dressed in a simple lemon vinaigrette. With the poached eggs for some richness. It wasn’t ramp-forward, but ramps did good as the supporting character, especially with a bit of char. Yum.
That’s it, all the ways we’ve used the ramps in the past three years. Hope you can get your hands on some next year, and use it between 3-7 ways.