Ramp time! Ramp time! Just as it’s becoming more and more appealing to go outside, those iconic patches of light-green blades are furring up our forest floors. And while I’m always picking a bag of these to make ramp butter and ramp pesto, both of which freeze perfectly, I wanted to challenge myself this year to try something new.
After a friend reported that a more traditional salsa verde with ramps, lemon, olive oil, salt, and jalapeno turned out great, I went looking for a recipe online. I found one starring Italian flavors that I could make with pantry staples, and quickly. Instantly, I started putting it on everything: omelettes, plain chicken, carrot sticks. The other day at lunch I realized that I had a doctor’s appointment and, if I ate this sauce as I’d planned, I would become a plague upon their office. I regret to report I couldn’t stop myself, and I hope the postprandial Altoid did its job. If it didn’t, I’m sorry!
Italian-ish Ramp Salsa Verde (adapted from The Forager Chef)
2.5 oz ramps (if you have no scale, aim for 2 cups of loosely packed, chopped leaves)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped anchovies
2 oz lemon juice + zest of one lemon
1.5 tablespoons capers
⅛-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
¾ cup olive oil
¼ cup water
Prepare the ramps depending on how much you want that sharp taste to come through. If you want them quite sharp, just put the fresh ones on your cutting board and chop. If you want the taste a little blunted, blanch half of your leaves in boiling water, or steam, for a minute. Squeeze dry, and chop alongside the fresh ones.
Take out your blender or (ideal, I’m jealous) Vitamix. Put the chopped leaves, salt, pepper, anchovies, juice and zest, capers, and pepper flakes into the pitcher. As you’re pureeing this, drizzle in the oil through the top of the blender, until it smoothes out. At the very end, add in the water, and hit it again until it’s super smooth.
This makes about 8 oz of sauce. You can store it in the fridge for weeks. It’ll mellow from bright green to hunter green in that time, but that zing remains the same.
