Pickled Ramps
Ramps are a wild leek that’s plentiful in marshy areas and farmers markets in early spring, where I live in upstate New York. They’re small and delicate so I use the green parts as well as the bulbs for pickled ramps. Drape a few over a pork chop, slice and serve in salad, or present as part of a pickle plate.
Ingredients:
A big bunch of ramps
1/4 c sugar*
½ c water
½ c cider vinegar
1 ½ T pickling spice
1 t salt
Method: clean the ramps by cutting off the roots, removing any dried outer husk with your fingernail, and cutting off any wilted areas from the tops. This process will take quite a while. Have ready a bowl of ice water; blanch the cleaned ramps quickly in boiling water then plunge into ice water where you can leave them while you prepare the rest of the recipe. Heat sugar, water, cider vinegar and pickling spice to a boil, cool slightly, then pour over drained ramps in a wide mouth canning jar. Keeps 1 month in refrigerator.
- This amount of sugar will give you a mild sweetness to offset the oniony notes, but not as much as in bread and butter pickles. You can reduce the sugar if you like, or just leave it out.
