What are ramps, you ask? Allium tricoccum, also known by the name spring onion, ramson, wild leek, or ail des bois (French). The are a leafy onion with a flavor somewhere between onion and garlic. Where they grow abundantly in the wild, like West Virginia, they have festivals celebrating them and people come from miles around to enjoy them. Elsewhere, they are a rare seasonal delicacy. We've only had them twice. Be on the lookout for them in late winter or early spring if you've got a Whole Foods (or the like) or a good farmer's market.
If you can't find them, you can substitute whole green onions in this recipe.
This is an important component to the recipe for lamb shanks with apricots, almonds, and wild ramps and a stew of lentils, but you could certainly find other uses for them. With pork, or prepared further as a small appetizer.
INGREDIENTS
| 1 lb. early spring ramps 1 cup cider vinegar ½ cup sugar 1 cinnamon stick | 1 bay leaf 1 dried hot chile pepper 1 tablespoon coriander seeds ½ tablespoon fennel seeds |
DIRECTIONS
Trim the green tops from the ramps and wash them. Split any large ramps lengthwise. Blanch all the ramps for 15 seconds in boiling salted water. Shock them in ice water, drain, and dry.
Combine the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Place the ramps in a large jar. Add spices, then pour the hot vinegar mixture over the ramps. Seal the jars and let cool to room temperature overnight. Refrigerate until needed. (Save any leftover pickling juice for vinaigrette, mayonnaise, coleslaw, and salads.)
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