Ramps and Pasta

This time of year we're hearing a lot about West Virginia ramp festivals, and people are asking "What are ramps?" and "How do you use them?" Well, you can use ramps in any recipe that calls for garlic or scallions. The whole plant is edible. I like them in potato salad, with fried potatoes, and this way, with pasta.








Ingredients

• 1/2 lb ramps
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest or lemon juice
• Crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb pasta of choice (I like farfella [bowtie] pasta)
• 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
  

Directions

1. Trim roots from ramps and slip off outer skin on bulbs, if loose. Blanch ramps in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, 5 to 10 seconds, lift out of boiling water and transfer to cutting board. Coarsely chop ramps and put in a blender with zest and oil.
2. Add pasta to boiling water and cook a few minutes, then ladle out 1/2 cup pasta water and add to blender. Purée ramps until smooth and season with salt. Continue to cook pasta until al dente, then ladle out about 1 cup additional pasta water before draining spaghetti in a colander. Return pasta to pot with ramp purée and toss with parmesan over moderate heat for several minutes, thinning sauce with a little pasta water as needed to coat pasta.
3. Transfer to serving plate.