As the snow melts and the earth wakes up, Mother Nature also wants to wake up our taste buds with ramps. Oh ramps; those odoriferous delights are a fleeting springtime treat. Also known as wild leeks, our Minnesota woods are full of these tasty treasures. Unlike the common leek, however, ramps have a pungent garlic/onion flavor that brightens any dish they are added into. Ramps are also high in iron and antioxidants.

Both the leaves and the bulbs of a ramp are edible. The leaves can be served as any other salad green; simply tear them up into your favorite spinach salad. A warm bacon vinaigrette would be delicious with it. The bulbs can be used as any onion is. I use the bulbs on top of pizza, in pasta, sautéed with potatoes, ground into a pesto, and anyplace else that I can think of. Unfortunately, the ramps disappear long before my cooking ideas.

If you have any questions about ramps, I’m just an email away.