Ramps are an ingredient I didn’t even know existed before moving to the United States. When springtime comes around, I always see chefs going crazy for this ingredient. It’s available for just a short period of time when the snow is starting to melt and spring has just sprung.
With its mild onion-y flavor and gorgeous green tint, I decided pesto was the way to make the most of this ingredient. Instead of going for the traditional pine nuts, I added a little bit of Brazilian flavor with Brazil nuts. The pesto did not require as much olive oil because the nuts were already very fatty. The resulting flavor and color was very bright because I had blanched the ramps before pureeing (see my post on green crepes for more information about this technique).
And since I am going #zerowaste here, I used the bulbs to make fried rice using lots of leftovers from the fridge including short ribs, Japanese rice, roasted garlic, and about to go bad zucchini.