SPRING! I live in NY and by the time ramps arrive on the scene we’re just starting to come out of the drawn out dreary end of winter. Spicy, garlicky, delicious ramps are the signal that we’ve made it; fresh produce and sunshine are on the way! When ramps showed up at my grocery store this week I scooped up 2 bunches and am already strategizing on how to get more.

Ramps are an allium with a short season in early spring, sometimes as short as a few weeks. They’re also known as wild leeks and are usually foraged from shady wooded areas. Ramps are garlicky and oniony and mild while still being spicy and delicious. They taste like the embodiment of green freshness - which is exactly what the doctor ordered now that we’re running full sprint into springtime.

In my excitement, I decided to stretch my ramps by making pesto, which I plan to slather everything I eat in for the next week. I included optional cheese in this recipe; I don’t personally use it, but it would be good particularly if you want a more mellow flavor. If you use the cheese - you may want to cut the salt out of the recipe; the cheese is pretty salt on its own. If I can scoop up more ramps this week I’ll be making a ramp risotto, stay tuned!

Ingredients:

8 oz wild ramps (cleaned & rough chopped)

1/4 cup hazelnuts (heaping)

6 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 cup grated parmigian cheese

Clean and trim the roots off of the ramps, then rough chop them and pop them into a food processor with the garlic & salt. Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan on medium heat until fragrant and toss them into the food processor as well. Blitz until it starts forming a paste, and then add the olive oil and cheese if using, blizting again until you get a fairly smooth even textured paste.

If you aren’t using it immediately, I like to scoop it into a jar for storage - my mom always put extra olive oil on top of pesto to seal it so I do too.