Above is a photo of the ramps growing in our yard (along with some ferns and the heart shaped wild ginger in the background). 
They look like lily-of-the-valley (without the lovely flowers),
which is not edible.
 Although the ramps have been in this spot for years, they have not multiplied enough to eat. Fortunately, I can buy them from our Shooting Star Farm CSA instead.

Eat Your Yard:  Ramps
(aka Wild Garlic, Allium tricoccum)
by Theresa

I've seen pictures of forests in the early Spring that are carpeted with ramps, which are wild garlic, and I have been extremely jealous. I have bought and planted ramps in our yard in a couple places (left), and although they have returned every Spring for several years now, they have not multiplied at all, so there have not been enough to eat. I have read some mixed messages about growing ramps, with two extremes, one saying that they grow and spread easily, and another saying that it takes 15 years for ramp seeds to germinate. So while I contemplate this mystery and search for better growing information, I settle for buying wild-foraged ramps at the farmer's markets.

Ramps are usually one of the first fresh foods to show up in our markets, in early May, along with or before asparagus and morel mushrooms if you're lucky (and can afford to buy them- $15 for a half pound that last time I splurged). Ramps are usually only available for one or two weeks, and they sell fast, so be sure to show up at the market early! In our area, you can find ramps at both the Dane County Farmer's Market and the Mineral Point Farmer's Market (sold by Shooting Star Farm).

Since we eat ramps in only a few meals over a two week period in Spring, it makes them very special. It's one of the treats I look forward to every year that lets me know Spring has returned!

All parts of the plant are edible. The white bulb and reddish stems have the most garlic flavor, although it is much milder than cultivated garlic. The green leaves are even milder, and add a lot of color to whatever dish you're using them in.

Spring Ramps in Pasta

1. Get some water boiling and choose what type of pasta you're going to cook in it (I like thicker shapes with ramps)/

2. Clean the ramps if needed, and cut off the ends of the bulbs to remove the roots.

3.  These ramps are ready to saute!

4.  Rough chop your ramps, all parts of which are edible. Because the stems and bulbs have a mild garlic flavor (although that's always a relative judgement), I leave them in big chunks so we'll taste the garlic more.

5. Grate as much parmesan cheese as your diet can take.

6. When your water comes to a boil, do several things at once: Put the pasta in to boil and cook until done (we're doing around 3 servings worth)...

7a. ... At the same time, put 1 to 2 cups of whipping cream into a small pan on low heat, adding the grated cheese and some freshly ground pepper.  Keep it on a low heat so that the cream warms enough to melt the cheese, but doesn't start to boil...

7b. ... and add the chopped ramps to another skillet in which you have melted a couple tablespoons of butter (or use olive oil).

8. Stir the ramps until they're coated with the butter or oil.

9. Saute the ramps for just a few minutes until they wilt and turn a darker green:

10. Meanwhile, it helps to stir the cream to keep it from boiling while the cheese melts.

11. When the pasta is done and the cheese is melted, stir everything together and add more freshly grated pepper.

12. I also baked a cheesy flat bread to accompany the pasta.

Time to celebrate the return of Spring with a feast...

Variations:

I added the parmesan cream sauce to this dish because we had some cream that we needed to use up. You can also get a great garlicky ramp flavor by skipping the cream sauce and just adding a lot of butter to the pasta instead, with or without parmesan cheese. It might be lower in calories....

There are lots of other great ramp recipes out there, but since the ramp season only lasts a couple weeks, I have never tried them. I think having the ramps in a simple pasta dish really lets the garlic flavor shine through. Bear says that in future years, we need to get more ramps so he can experiment, so stay tuned.

Happy Spring!