Grilled Ramps (Wild Onions) with Gnocchi

One of my favorite things about the farmers market is having access to all sorts of seasonal goodies that you wouldn’t usually find in the supermarket.  I tried ramps for the first time last yeah and was only able to find them once due to the many restaurants and foodies in NY scooping them up right away. 

Fresh ramps - look for tops that are crisp and green

If you’re not familiar with them, ramps are a wild green onion with a strong garlicky note that are only available for a few short weeks in the Spring.  This year I was lucky enough to score a bunch early in the season.

Ramps are pretty awesome with a little caramelization on them so pan grilling is one way to get the job done.  I grilled them last year and put them on some toasted Italian bread with fresh ricotta and they were amazing.  This time around, I added them to some gnocchi for a pretty bangin’ main dish.

Ingredients

1 lb. gnocchi (homemade* or store bought, I ain’t judging)

*Recipe here http://urbankitschen.blogspot.com/2012/04/leftover-mashed-potato-gnocchi.html

1 cup gnocchi cooking water reserved

1 bunch of wild ramps

1 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs butter

3 Tbs chopped walnuts

Salt and Pepper to taste

3 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese

Clean the ramps by separating the green leaves a bit and rinsing out any sand. 

 Chop the roots off and separate the green leaves from the white/red bottoms.  These parts cook a bit differently so it’s best to cook them separately to ensure that they cook evenly.

Prepped ramps with the roots trimmed and the greens separated

Cook and drain the gnocchi and reserve a cup of cooking water.

The gnocchi will be ready when they float to the top

Add olive oil to a frying pan on high heat and add ramp bottoms.  Cook until golden brown and remove.

They should be lightly browned but now too dark as they'll take on a less appealing burnt garlic flavor

Add ramp tops on medium heat and wilt as you would spinach and remove from pan.

Lightly wilted is just enough

Allow to cool slightly and chop coarsely.

Chop and set aside

Add butter and walnuts to pan on low heat, toasting the walnuts and browning the butter.  

The butter will foam up a bit when it's ready

Add a bit of the gnocchi cooking water and simmer to create a sauce.  

Reduce the sauce slightly to thicken

Add the chopped ramps and gnocchi to pan and toss with the sauce.  

Add 'em in

Stir sauce to mix

Then add the gnocchi and gently toss with the sauce

And keep tossin'

Add Parmesan cheese and toss again to coat.

Parmesan will melt into the sauce

We garnished with a shaved hard goat cheese from Dipalos. 

Amazing cheese if you can find it!

Epic Friday Night dinner.