I saw ramps for the first time at the farmer's market on Saturday. I got so excited that I greedily grabbed a bunch, totally neglecting the fact that I had no idea how to use them. How can I make something tasty from an ingredient I've never used before? Time to experient.
I really wanted to get the full flavor of the ramps since I'd never eaten them before so I looked around to see what I had: some pasta, eggs, and olive oil. Excellent. First I put on a pot of water to boil. When the water started to boil, I added the spaghetti and cooked based on the directions on the box. Then I took the ramps I removed the roots and separated the white/red bulb from the leaves. I chopped up the bulbs and sauteed them in some olive oil in a nonstick pan. When they were tender and translucent, I cracked and egg into a bowl and slid it into the pan to cook it sunny side up. (Putting the egg into a bowl first helps makes sure that it gets into the pan intact.) I made sure to put the sauteed ramps on top of the egg just so the egg would get some of the flavor.
In another pan, I sauteed the ramps leaves in some olive oil. I was generous with the olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) since I was planning for this to be my sauce. Then I sprinkled about a teaspoon of salt on top for flavor. As soon as the spaghetti was done, I took it and swirled it around in the ramp pan to cover it with the olive oil. Once that's done, just place the spaghetti on a plate and place the sunny side up egg on top.
The ramps added a gentle onion flavor. The leaves reminded me of cooked spinach infused with onion flavor. Adding the egg and the runny yolk made this meal one of my favorite spring treats. It's an easy, breezy, under 15 minute, one person meal and it was delicious!
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