After class on Friday (deep-frying, oy), a few of us wandered over to the Union Square Greenmarket. My mission? Ramps. Also known as wild leeks, ramps have a very short growing season (only weeks here in the Northeast). With a strong onion-garlic flavor, these slim stalks pack a punch. Compound ramp butter is a common preparation, delicious slathered on grilled meats, bread or thrown into pasta or risotto. I stumbled across this recipe for ramp pesto – bingo! Try subbing this pesto for your usual spread on sandwiches or as a nice complement to grilled vegetables.
Wild Ramp Walnut Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of ramps
- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
- sea salt
- black pepper
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Directions
- Chop the ramps and walnuts just a bit and put them in your food processor.
- Add cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper and pulse to combine.
- Process on low speed while slowly adding the olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Recipe adapted from Food 52
A Girl's Gotta Eat 
Bingo for me too! Our house’s prior owner planted garlic and onions as deer repellent so basically we live in the middle of a field of feral garlic and onions and can’t plant any new veggies without digging up armfuls of these little guys. We’ve been sautéing them in butter for weeks but yesterday we dug out a new tomato bed and pulled up an entire wheelbarrow full of them. So I urgently need a recipe I can make in bulk and freeze for the winter. Pesto! Perfect! Thank you!!