If you don’t know what wild leeks aka ramps are, you’re not alone. I only learned about them after moving to West Virginia – where ramps are highly celebrated (literally, celebrated – there’s an annual ramp festival). Ramps are wild onions that look kind of like scallions – only they have large, flat leaves at the top. They taste like a cross between onions and garlic – and you can use them just like you would onions, leeks or scallions. I’ve been using ramps in everything lately: ramp burgers, stir-fries, frittatas. Recently, I used ramps in place of garlic and onions in my crispy Indian okra recipe – it was fantastic. Ramps grow in the wild but, you might be able to find them at your local farmer’s market (here’s a map of where they grow). Roby and I were lucky enough to go hunting for ramps in the woods with our friends Hayley and Ray of Health Starts in the Kitchen (here’s a picture of us girls before the trip). They took us out to hunt for morel mushrooms (we found SO many! Morels are my new favorite mushroom) and afterward, Ray took us to what seemed like the middle of the forest – a secret spot that he and his family have been using for years – and there were ramps everywhere! If you can’t get access to ramps, no worries – just try my Sarson ka Saag recipe. You can read through the comments and see the different greens that people have been using (dandelion, kale, radish greens, etc). If you have more ramps than you know what to do with… well, then this recipe is for you. I use the bulbs as the onion base for the recipe and I use the leaves for the greens. The only part of the ramp that I don’t use for this dish are the stems – you can save those for other dishes to enjoy throughout the week. What’s your favorite way to enjoy ramps? Like this recipe? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board now so you will remember to make it later!
