OMFG, It's a Ramp Fest!

Ramps are way tastier than scallions, and they're free. We find them on many of my foraging tours, which I lead every weekend throughout the Greater NY area (check out wildmanstevebrill.com), along with dozens of other wild foods that are just as good, but without as much PR (also, restaurant chefs don't know them, and their suppliers don't carry them).

Ramp leaves die in May, but the bulbs are in season right into the winter, and my master foraging app series, Wild Edibles, on sale in the iTunes Store beginning around 4/14/11, shows you how to recognize them (and all the other renewable gourmet wild foods), harvest them ecologically, and use them. Here's the ramp recipe from the app (it's vegan, as am I) below. You can get the unusual ingredients in any health food store.

Happy Foraging!

"Wildman" Steve Brill

Ramp Casserole

Here’s a very simple way for onion lovers to enjoy ramps with pasta.

1/4 cup olive oil11 ramp bulbs, sliced5 large red onions, sliced2/3 cup tomato sauce2/3 cup soy mayonnaise4 cups whole-grain macaroni1 10-oz. package of any non-dairy cheese (available in health food stores), grated2 tsp. Vege-sal or seasoned salt, or to taste1 tbs. arrowroot

1. Gently sauté the onions and ramps in the olive oil 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

2. Meanwhile, boil the macaroni in salted water with a dash of olive oil according to the manufacturer’s directions, and drain in a colander.

3. Stir the tomato sauce, mayo, and Vege-sal into the pasta and transfer into a large, oiled roasting pan.

4. Top with the grated cheese.

5. Bake 30 minutes, or until the cheese has at least partially melted, in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes