Pickled Ramps #FoodieExtravaganza

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month.

Posting day for #FoodieExtravaganza is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

This month I am hosting the group as we shine the spotlight on pickles since July is National Pickle Month. So I asked the bloggers to "share your favorite recipes for making pickles, using pickles, etc. Lacto-fermented. Quick-pickled. It's all fair game!" Here's what they are sharing...

• Haitian Pikliz by Magical Ingredients
• Homemade Pub-Style Pickled Onions by Food Lust People Love 
• Lemon Pickled Lotus Root by Palatable Pastime
• Pickled Ramps by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Pickled Rhubarb by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Quick Pickled Zucchini and Red Onions by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Stuffed Gunda / Lasoda Pickle With Mango by Sneha's Recipe

Pickled Ramps

Are you a ramp-fanatic? I eagerly await the week or three - yes, our season is very, very short - when you walk the markets and spot these pungent lovelies. Their aroma is somewhere between garlic and leeks; in fact, they are also called wild leeks. But they are actually a perennial wild onion. And their appearance is fleeting. Enjoy them while you can because they'll be gone before you know it.

Funny story...they are so elusive that the cashier at the market this evening didn't know what they were. I had grabbed them from the bins next to the fava beans, but they didn't have a code or price. 

"What are these?" she asked.

Ramps, I informed her.

She looked all through her code book. She even sent someone to get the code from the produce department.

"There is no code," he reported back.

Yeah, I didn't see one either, but I just wanted to grab some since you don't carry them for very long.

In a complete surprise turn of events, she said, "Well, I guess I'll just give them to you...since we don't have a price in our system."

Oh! Thanks. If I had known that was going to transpire, I would have grabbed a whole lot more of them. But I controlled myself and just nodded gratefully.

With this batch, I decided to o a quick pickle. It's super easy, but they are a fabulous addition to any cheese board.

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 handfuls of ramps, trimmed
• 1 cup vinegar (I used white vinegar)
• 1/2 cup organic granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole dill seeds
• Also needed: lidded jar; nice to have: Pickle Pebble* (glass weight to keep the veggies submerged)

Procedure

Place the coriander and dill seeds in the bottom of your jar. Set aside.

In a saucepan , bring vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil. Plunge the trimmed ramps into the liquid and remove from the heat immediately. Let stand for a minute or two, then place the ramps in the jar and pour the liquid over them. I use a Pickle Pebble to keep everything weighted down. Let cool on the counter to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. I try to pickle them for at least 2 days. This will keep, refrigerated for a month. But it's never lasted more than a week in my household...we just devour it straight from the jar!

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