Foraging for Ramps
Goodness growing wild behind my monastery.
A sure sign that spring has finally arrived in Wisconsin is the wild ramps sprouting in the nearby wood behind my monastery. Ramps are something I look forward to harvesting every year.
When the monks and I moved from California to Wisconsin eight years ago, I asked the local villagers if anything was growing in the woods. Nobody knew of anything, but I had a feeling that I’d find something if I looked hard enough.
Sure enough, our first spring after a dreadful winter, I found wild ramps growing not a quarter of a mile outside my kitchen door.
What are ramps you ask?
In my opinion, ramps are another sign that God loves us! One of the first greens to sprout in early spring, they are a taste of heaven, a cross between garlic and a wild leek.
Back in the days before supermarkets and year ‘round produce, they were the first vegetable people harvested after a long winter without any fresh produce, often to stave off scurvy.
Ramps are indigenous to Appalachia and the Great Lakes region of the US. They grow wild and have not taken to cultivation though many have tried with no success. I’m told that when harvesting ramps never to take all of them as they grow from rhizomes which require some of them to die to feed the plants for next years crop.
Today I was able to get out of the monastery and hike off with my trusty spade and a bucket to hopefully harvest some of God’s goodness. I found a nice crop growing around the monastery’s pond and quickly filled the bucket, leaving plenty behind.
I love cooking with nice fresh ramps, but what to make?
They’re excellent in any dish you’d use garlic. I often make Italian sausage and ramp Ragu. I serve it with pasta, preferably homemade pasta, or use the Ragu to make a risotto with lots of Parmesan cheese.
Ramps are also great tossed in a little olive oil and thrown on the grill with a steak or some chops, just wilted. The green tops can replace basil in a pesto and the bulbs used in lieu of the garlic.
Decisions, decisions!
Do you forge for any wild food?
Have a favorite way to eat ramps?
Here’s another post of mine about how to use cookbooks in your kitchen:
About the Author
Father Moses is one of the founders of Holy Resurrection Monastery where he has been the main chef since 1995. His journey to the monastery can be attributed in part to his career as a chef. Having worked in New York hotels and restaurants, owning his own catering business, and being a chef on private yachts, has allowed Father Moses to be able to serve the brothers and numerous guests of Holy Resurrection Monastery delicious, soul-feeding hospitality!
