Things to do with Ramps, Part 1: Two thinks that I love are Chimichurri (Sauce) and Ramps (German: Bärlauch). If you don’t know what chimichurri is, the short answer is that it is a green sauce made of herbs, garlic, some acid (i.e. lemon or lime juice or vinegar), chiles (fresh or dried) and olive oil. Typically the herbs are parsley, and sometimes cilantro/coriander and sometimes oregano. It originates from Argentina, when it is traditionally put on steak, but it certainly can be put on other things. You’ll see a few examples of that in the next few days here.
My other love is ramps, which are also called wild garlic, ramsons, bear’s garlic, wild leeks, wild onions, bear’s weed, etc. In German, it is called Bärlauch and is one of those “must eat” things in the Spring (they are only available for a few short weeks). Anyway, given that I have a bunch of ramps, and it is Spring, I decided to add some of these to my latest batch of chimichurri. Huge success.
Ingredients
2 cups fresh Italian parsley leaves, lightly packed
3/4 cup fresh ramps, white and green parts, cleaned and trimmed, divided
2 tablespoons fresh oregano
5 cloves garlic, peeled
5 tablespoons lime juice
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil (more or less to taste and desired consistency)
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon chipotle chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Directions
In your food processor, pulse together the parsley, 1/2 cup of the ramps, the oregano and garlic cloves. How fine you want these ingredients chopped is up to you. I like my chimichurri sort of fine, so 8-10 pulses is usually perfect, but take a look after a couple of spins to see what is right for you. Move the chopped up ingredients to a work bowl.
Add lime juice and red wine vinegar to the chopped herbs and garlic. Then season with salt, pepper and chili flakes. Start to add in the olive oil. Depending on how thick you want the consistency of the chimichurri, you might not want to add the full cup or you may want more than one cup. Again, this is up to you.
Finally, roughly chop the remaining 1/4 cup of ramps. I like to add in a “chunkier” bit just at the end. Taste the chimichurri and re-season if necessary. I typically make my chimichurri at least a few ours before using it because as the flavors meld, they do change a bit, so just before using, have a taste again and adjust as you see fit.
Use as a marinade, dipping sauce, or as a condiment. While traditionally chimichurri was an accompaniment to beef / steak, I use it on everything from bruschetta to potatoes to fish to yes, of course, also steak. This will keep in the fridge for about a week.
