My father was born and raised in Richwood, that mountain village on the shores of the oft-flooded Cherry River, where aside from boasting of having the world’s largest clothespin factory in the early 20th century, now is more commonly known for the town that legitimized and made famous Allium tricoccums or ramps.
Of course, we all now know about the cult-like popularity of that odiferous lily that emerges from the ground in the springtime mountainous areas of our state, but ramps’ culinary discovery was not fully appreciated until the late 20th century. I actually experienced the powerful effects of ramps a couple decades earlier.
I was a newly minted private first class serving in the US Army then and home on leave, spending a few days with my family before heading off to Southeast Asia to defeat communism. Late one evening, after arriving home from a few hours sipping cold ones at the Sportsman’s Inn, my next-door neighbor wished to send me off to my patriotic duty by lugging over a six pack (or so) of beer and a mess of ramps which I had never had the( pleasure ?) of tasting. He suggested the best way to enjoy the little buggers was to sprinkle them with salt and eat them raw – which we did until the wee hours. When I awoke the next morning, my mother had opened up every window and door in the house and was outside with an industrial size container of Lysol spraying the stuff the into the house. The moral of the story: don’t ever drink beer and eat raw ramps without warning your family and neighbors
That was my first, but not my last experience with ramps, and I suppose many folks either love ‘em or hate ‘em. Like calf brains, snails or okra, ramps are an acquired taste though now most cooks attempt to cover up their pungency by added them to fried potato or pinto bean dishes. Believe me, there are better and more enjoyable ways of adding ramps to your daily meals.
Excellent
choice
with
grilledc
ramps
and
meat
dishesHere are a couple recipes for your consideration. The first is to simply and quickly grill or sauté them (no more than three minutes) in a tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and then pair them to grilled meats or veggies. The second method of using them is in a pasta dish I call Ramps Italiano. By the way, if you’re looking for ramps, I’ve recently purchased them at the Purple Onion store at Capitol Market in Charleston. Do a Google search and I’m sure you’ll find them somewhere near you. And of course, I’m going to provide you with a couple of wine pairing suggestions below with which to accompany the dishes.
A
Spring
Harvest
of
Ramps
Ramps
Italiano
Shopping
list:
One
small
bunch
of
ramps
cleaned
Two
slices
of
thick
sliced
bacon
Three
tablespoons
of
extra
virgin
olive
oil
One-pound
of
fettucine
One
teaspoon
of
red
pepper
flakes
(optional)
One
cup
of
grated
pecorino-romano
cheese
Salt
and
pepper
to
taste
Creating
the
Dish:
Dice
two
pieces
of
bacon,
sauté
until
crisp
then
put
bacon
onto
paper
towels
Reserve
one
tablespoon
of
bacon
fat
and
add
olive
oil
to
sauté
pan
Chop
ramps
into
1/2-inch
pieces,
reserving
half
the
green
parts
for
garnish
Sauté
the
ramps
in
the
oil
and
bacon
fat
until
tender
Cook
the
pasta
(al
dente)
in
a
large
pot
and
reserve
one
cup
of
the
cooking
liquid
Transfer
the
cooked
pasta
to
the
sauté
pan
and
add
the
reserved
cooking
liquid
Mix
the
pasta
into
the
sauce,
add
cheese,
red
pepper
flakes
and
salt
and
pepper
to
taste
Serve
with
the
green
ramp
leaves
as
a
garnish
Wine
Recommendations:
2021
La
Massa
($30)
–
From
Tuscany,
this
medium
bodied
red
is
a
delicious,
layered
wine
with
black
cherry
flavors
and
hints
of
chocolate
and
spice.
A
combination
of
sangiovese
and
merlot,
the
La
Massa
is
not
only
tasty,
it’s
a
bargain
for
the
quality
in
the
bottle,
and
it
pairs
seamlessly
with
the
grilled
meat
and
ramp
dish.
2023 Bisci Verdicchio di Matellica ($33) – This lovely, crisp white from the mountainous region of the Marches in central Italy has a dept of citrus fruit flavors and an unexpected richness for this varietal that is an excellent match to the savory Ramps Italiano dish.
John Brown is also a novelist. His latest book – Augie’s Wine –is now available to order online or at his website wordsbyjohnbrown.com. His first two books– Augie’s War and Augie’s World – are also available online and at bookstores around the state. You can find out more about his novels, and review all his archived Vines & Vittles columns at wordsbyjohnbrown.com
