Produce reports that ramps are in season! We’ll also have fiddlehead ferns and spring garlic in the store this weekend.

Ramps are wild onions, sometimes called wild leeks. Their appearance in forests is a harbringer of spring in the countryside and their appearance in our produce case is the city equivalent. In the picture at left you can see that the bulbs are similar to those of scallions but ramps are distinguished by their large, flat broad leaves.

Both the bulbs and leaves of ramps are edible. The flavor of ramps is something in between onion and garlic with the leaves having lighter more gentle flavor than the bulbs. They can be used as a substitute in any recipe that calls for leek or scallion. A classic dish is scrambled eggs with ramps. Simply sauté diced ramps in butter or oil until tender then add eggs and scramble in your normal fashion. We can’t think of a better way to celebrate spring on a weekend morning.