Simple Ramp Pasta
on May 01, 2020, Updated May 19, 2022
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A simple ramp pasta to make the most out of the ultra seasonal ingredient.
Easy Pasta with Ramps
Oh, hi, it’s me again. And I’m talking about ramps again, those beautiful wild leeks of early spring.
This is the problem with ultra seasonal ingredients — you have to cook them furiously while they are around to milk every ramp-ey (or soft shell crab-ey or corn-ey) short season moment.
On one hand, frankly, this can be kind of annoying. Maybe you don’t want ramps every other night for two weeks. Maybe, more vocally, your kids don’t. And when my kids start making dinner for all of us, then that will be their prerogative. But if you don’t eat them greedily, you might have ramp-grets. (Sorry.)
A simple ramp pasta (about 25 minutes start to finish!) to make the most out of this ultra seasonal wild green onion.
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Using Ramps in Pasta
My kids pick these with me every spring. They don’t always do it willingly (see above), but it’s one of my favorite outdoorsy moments with them every year. Seriously foraging for an ingredient and then using it straight away in a recipe is one of the most gratifying experiences ever, and since I wouldn’t trust myself to know a good mushroom from a poisonous one, I’m all about these wild green onions.
This might be the first dish to make if you’ve gotten hold of a bunch of ramps, either through your own labor, or via a farmers’ market, and you want to make something with them stat, without a whole lot of thought or time.
How to Make Ramp Pasta
And if you’re new to cooking ramps, this is a simple easy way to get started, and really taste the ramps for the special spring wild food that they are. It couldn’t be easier and you can use whatever pasta you like, though I love the way a long skinny noodle shimmies up to the long skinny ramps.
You just saute the ramps and add some broth and a touch of cream and a few other seasonings while the water boils and the pasta cooks. That’s the whole story. If you use vegetarian broth, it’s a vegetarian dish. It’s just a beauty in its simplicity.
Other Ramps Recipes:
- Pasta Salad with Chicken, Picholine Olives, and Ramp VinaigretteRamp Chimichurri Crostinis
- Green Olive and Ramp Tapenade
- Pasta and Salmon Salad with Ramp Dressing
- Ramp Chimichurri Sauce
- Spring Ramp and Pea Risotto
- Pasta with Ramps, Edamame, and Sugar Snap Peas in a Light Parmesan Cream Sauce
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Simple Ramp Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound ramps cleaned and trimmed (you got more? use more)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil plus more for serving
- Kosher salt to taste
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 pound linguine or other long pasta
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes to taste
- ½ cup heavy or whipping cream
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan plus more to serve
Instructions
- Slice the ramps, in half crosswise, separating the whites and greens into separate parts. Very roughly chop the bulbs, leaving some large pieces. Very roughly the leaves, leaving most of the greens in large pieces.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the white ramp bulbs, season with salt and pepper and sauté for about 8 minutes, then add the leaves and saute everything for another 5 or 6 minutes until the ramps are quite tender.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. When it comes to a boil, add a generous amount of salt. Add the pasta cook according to package directions, just until al dente. Just before draining remove 1 cup of the cooking water, and after draining return the pasta to the pot.
- When the ramps are tender, turn the heat to high, add the white wine, and stir to reduce the wine by half and deglaze the pan. Scrape the ramps and remaining wine into the pot with the drained pasta, and place the pot over high heat. Add the chicken broth, red pepper flakes, and about half a cup of the cooking water. Stir and toss until the liquid reduces a bit into a sauce and absorbs into the pasta, and the pasta become tender, adding more of the cooking water as needed/desired. Add the heavy cream, toss for another minute, then add the cheese, and stir until it melts into the sauce, and everything is hot and well combined.
- Serve hot, with extra grated Parm, if desired.
such a tasty pasta recipe! love ramps!
Delicious
Our first ramp experience and we’re hooked! Thanks for this simple and delicious recipe.
You are harvesting them in a no sustainable manner. I got them at ground level leaving the bulb behind to Re sprout leaves. Some people,advocate removing just one leaf per plant. It takes 7 years for a ramp, job to reach blooming size to make seeds, so please leave the bulb to grow.
Just leave the roots and they will grow back. I promise.
I was given some fresh picked ramps. This was my first time cooking with ramps so I appreciate your detailed instructions. Recipe was easy to follow and it was delicious! A nice balance with the flavorful ramps and the light cheese sauce.
This recipe is excellent. I made it gluten-free and vegan and it was delicious
Delicious! This was my first tome with ramps, and it won’t be the last. Definitely a family friendly recipe that’s good enough to share with dinner guests.
Barb, I’m new to the gluten-free, vegan world. I know I can use cassava pasta or palm heart pasta, but what kind of cream did you use and how did you replace the Parmesan? Thanks for any help you can give. I’m really hoping to make this; it looks great!
I just made this and it was delicious! I did add a tiny bit of fresh lemon juice and lemon zest to it as well as used homemade fresh pasta for personal taste. Our ramps are at their peak right now (Southern Ontario) so this will go on the list to make again next year! Thank you for a lovely recipe.
I’m going to check and see if our ramps are in later today! Glad you liked it!
Just made this and eating it right now. DELICIOUS! found some fresh ramps and discovered your recipe today! Thank you
If you can find ramps this year they feel even more special and necessary! I’m going to go ramp hunting when time allows….