Mafaldine with Goat Cheese, Sweet Corn, and Sautéed Ramps

It’s ramp season, baby!!!! I’m not talking about a highway ramp or a wheelchair ramp or anything that has to do with sloped roads or sidewalks…I’m talking about the glorious ramp used in cooking. It’s part of the allium family (think onion, scallion, leeks, garlic, etc.) and it’s one of the most treasured ingredients in the culinary world. They’re so hard to find, but luckily a kind neighbor gifted me ramps the other day and I was able to make this delicious pasta dish.

Photo credit: beautifulcataya on Flickr

When I say ramps are hard to find…I’m not trying to be dramatic. I’m being truthful. Trying to buy ramps is like fighting off stampedes of people during Black Friday. They LITERALLY have a black market for ramps due to over-harvesting. To get more scientific for you: ramps are a North American species of wild onions that grow around the eastern part of Canada and the eastern United States. One of the reasons that they are so sought-after is that they are scarce and they grow very slowly. They take up to four years to flower and reproduce. They’re in season for only a few weeks during the spring as well. That’s why during these weeks you can see the restaurant menus of top establishments in New York city crowded with ramp dishes. 

Now let’s talk taste.  Ramps have a unique taste that anyone who enjoys onions/garlic obsess over. When they’re raw they taste like a green onion (yum.) But when cooked, they develop this garlicky, sweet, intense aroma and flavor that’s just unmatchable. It’s really unique and incredible. Ramps are not only rare, but expensive (unless you harvest them on your own and find them in the woods nearby.) They can sell for around $20 a pound (I know, I know) so for this recipe you can also use green onions as a replacement. If you add some garlic with that green onion, then even better as a good substitute. If you find ramps, make sure you clean them carefully as they can be full of dirt. And it’s important to store them properly for example by wrapping them in damp paper towels and leaving them in an unsealed plastic bag in the fridge. Just be prepared for the garlicky smell in the fridge, that’s part of the fun. 🙂

Not into this pasta? No problem.  If you have ramps, the world is your…well….ramp. Anything you can do with onions or scallions you can also do with ramps. You can make chimichurri, pesto, pickle them, sauté them or grill them. I was going to make a ramp pesto, but then I decided to just make my life easy and sauté them as part of a spring/summer pasta dish: ramps, goat cheese, sweet corn and pasta. This is my second springy pasta, the first one being my lemon butter pasta with sweet peas, mint, and whipped ricotta. The dish is very easy to make, but completely unique. I decided to use mafaldine pasta, but you can use other types if you want. Spaghetti or bucatini are excellent choices as they hold the sauce well being smaller noodles.     

What kind of corn should I use?

I’m a shortcut kind of gal. The sweet corn that I used was frozen and I just microwaved it in water for a minute to defrost it before adding it to my pasta dish (it heats up in the pan.) You can totally. use sweet corn that has been boiled, grilled, or just leftover corn from another dish.

Can I eyeball these measurements or do I have to stick with them?

Honestly, I estimated the measurements here and eyeballed everything! You can as well. The bottom line is: if you have the ingredients, there is just no way you can go wrong with this combination of flavors.