It’s here! … my favorite month of the year (apart from September when the golds and velvets touch the fields and hills), favorite because March is the month of the first spring ephemerals. It is also the month when, here in Madison County, the first ramp of the year is sighted, and not far behind is the first morel of the year.
Last year, I spotted the first ramp on March 5, and the first morel on March 27. Each year it differs slightly, but these are moments not to miss getting out and casting an eye.
For those of you who might be new to the area, or have traditionally had less adventurous palates, the ramp (Allium tricoccum, also known as ramson, or wild leek) is perhaps Appalachia’s signature ingredient, and has been touted as the holy grail of wild edibles. Akin to garlic in flavor and heat, it tastes like the woods, intensely green and almost earthy.
While much controversy abounds about how to harvest sustainably, if you have your own patch and it has had a few years to get going, you can eat with abandon, as this bulb is truly rampant in its growing power. If it makes you feel better, or if the patch is just getting on its legs, you can cut partway down the bulb with a sharp kitchen knife, leaving the root intact. I simply harvest selectively, leaving more than I take, and thinning them out much as you would a thick clump of daffodil bulbs that need to be divided every so often in order to keep them flowering.
This year, in the wake of Helene, the patch I have planted and carefully cultivated close to my house is covered with the debris of several immense trees which I watched topple over, praying they would not touch the house itself. So I will have to tramp further up into the hollers, where the green creeps slowly but steadily alongside the trickle of a stream, staking out the location of these treasures before the nettles and such come in to hide their whereabouts. (Stay tuned for a future episode of what to do with those pesky nettles!)
Once you get the ramps to your kitchen, you’ll want to run cold water over them, and remove the fleshy outer covering that encircles the bulb. If you have a lot of ramps, a garden hose is the best tool to use, as the water pressure peels back this layer with no effort.
You can eat the entire plant, both bulb and green, slicing finely and sautéing with eggs or potatoes, or all by themselves as a garnish to meats, soups, pasta, or salads. Pickle them and use them to “ramp up” a Bloody Mary, or eat along with a mess of green beans or collard greens. Try ramp bread, ramp quiche, ramp pesto and ramped-up deviled eggs. The possibilities are endless.
This week’s recipe, to tantalize your tastebuds, is a Ramp Vichyssoise. Vichyssoise has come to be considered a classic French soup (named for the town of Vichy), and can be served either hot or cold. It was popularized in the early 20th century by French chef Louis Diat, who was head chef of the newly opened Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York. In re-creating a soup his mother served during his childhood near Vichy, Diat unwittingly started a trend with his soup that quickly became not only a novelty, but a comfort food. Bizarrely, in La Revue Culinaire, a French publication, it was classified in 1923 as an item of American cuisine, and has never become as widely-served in France as in the U.S. and Britain.
Diat used leeks as the main ingredient along with his potatoes, but here in Appalachia, where we use what we have, there is no better substitute than the wild leek, the ramp in question. Keep in mind that the potatoes will thicken when chilled, so more liquid must be used if serving a cold version. As nights will likely still be glacial for a few weeks to come, I prefer to serve the soup steaming hot.
The ramp is perhaps Appalachia’s signature ingredient, writes SG Séguret.
Ramp and potato vichyssoise
Ingredients
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A generous handful of ramps
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1–2 quarts chicken broth, preferably homemade
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Salt and white pepper, to taste
Preparation
Wash ramps assiduously and slice into rondelles. Sauté slightly in butter or olive oil, to intensify the flavor and make your house smell divine. Cube potatoes and place in the pot with the ramps, covering both with the broth. Simmer until tender, then purée with an immersion blender. Add salt and white pepper, and stir in a bit of heavy cream.
Top with a sprinkling of finely-chopped ramps, sautéed on the side in butter.
Susi Gott Séguret
SG Séguret, author, chef, fiddler, ballad singer, was born and raised in Madison County, where she holds frequent foraging-cooking-dining sessions known as the Appalachian Culinary Experience, as well as a variety of other culinary adventures. Check out Appalachian Appetite: Recipes from the Heart of America for more ramp recipes. For further details, visit www.quintessentialtable.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Recipes of Comfort & Resilience: Ramp and potato Vichyssoise
