A Hungry Bear

Sometimes the food magazines I subscribe to let me down. They present beautiful photos and amazing recipes, which never fail to inspire me to try at least a handful of new things from any given issue. But sometimes I feel like they’re so out of touch with “normal” cooks. I mean, I think I dedicate more time than the average person to planning my meals, shopping for good ingredients, and cooking. So if I think it’s crazy to hunt down some weird ingredient I’ve never heard of, then I’m assuming I’m not alone in feeling this way. When I read April 2009’s Bon Appetit, I rolled my eyes at the article about “ramps”. Just another fancy type of produce they expect me to pay $8/pound for, but only if I happen to reside near a Berkeley area farmer’s market right?? Then the very next day, I see them at Whole Foods: locally farmed ramps, for 99 cents a pound. I owe the magazine an apology I guess.

This recipe says that ramps can stand in for both basil and garlic to make a pesto, which is tossed with pasta and spooned over grilled salmon. I made a few substitutions (they were right about the ramps, but I’m not hunting all over town for something called Marcona almonds!), but in general it was a great introduction to a new spring vegetable.

Note: the original recipe makes 6 6-ounce salmon servings; I adapted this to only make half that amount (plus several other substitutions noted below).

Grocery list: olive oil, 3 ramps, 1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese, 1/4 cup pine nuts (substituted for Marcona almonds), 2 tablespoons fresh basil (original calls for tarragon), 1/2 pound dried spaghetti or other pasta, 1 - 1.5 pound salmon fillet.

Start by cleaning and prepping the ramps. Wash them and trim off the root end.

Chop the white parts and set aside one cup for cooking. Chop about half a cup of the green stems - those won’t need to cook but instead will get added straight into the food processor later.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Saute the white parts of the ramps, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until they are wilted. Remove from the heat.

Next, you’ll need the grated asiago (I used Whole Foods’ store brand, pre-grated) and pine nuts. A few months ago we saw a field mouse in our loft (??!!!) and I went a little crazy putting every bulk item in individual airtight containers with labels. Haven’t seen a mouse since, but I feel self-conscious now for appearing so organized (I’m not really).

Put the cooked ramps into the bowl of a food processor, followed by the uncooked green parts.

Add the pine nuts.

And the asiago.

And if you don’t trust the recipe completely, since the ramps look so much like leeks you wonder if they’ll have enough kick to really make a pesto, throw in some basil leaves. (I also did this because the original called for tarragon, which I was out of, and I figured it needed some kind of herb.)

Pulse for a few seconds to get everything chopped up. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Turn the processor on, and drizzle in 1/4 cup of olive oil through the top opening.

Season with salt and pepper, and just leave it there till it’s time to assemble the pasta.

Sprinkle the salmon fillet with salt and pepper, then grill it over direct heat (medium-high) for about 5 minutes per side, until done. I use foil for all but the last minute per side, because our grill has a freakishly high flame that will char anything you put on it for longer than that.

Cook the pasta according to package directions, so it’s al dente. Drain and return it to the pot.

Add about 2/3 of the pesto to the pasta, and toss to coat. Reserve the rest to drizzle over the fish.

To serve, lay the salmon across a serving of pasta on the plate, and spoon extra pesto over top. Add more fresh cracked pepper to taste.