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April Food Festival: Ramps

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APRIL FOOD FESTIVAL: RAMPS

Each month, our Great Performances menus feature seasonal ingredients. It’s our way of celebrating the earth and bringing our special touch to every menu.

Ramps are a type of allium, a vegetable family that also includes garlic, onions, scallions and leeks. Ramps have many compounds that are being studied for potential health benefits. Quercetin and organosulfur compounds in ramps may have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Organosulfur compounds also give ramps their smell and taste.

Ramps and other alliums are good for gut health. Ramps are rich in prebiotics, a type of carbohydrate found in plant foods that encourages the growth of good gut bacteria.

Richard Brown, our Executive Chef of CPS Events at the Plaza, created a delicious ramps dish for us.

Comte Grilled Cheese with Roasted Ramp Honey on Brioche

by Richard Brown

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. Comte cheese, grated
  • 3 bunches of ramps
  • 6 oz. local honey
  • 1 pull man brioche, sliced lengthwise
  • 1 tsp unsalted butter
  • 1 Tb olive oil
  • Salt and fresh pepper
  • 1 clove garlic

Procedure

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Clean the ramps by cutting off the ends and trimming the leaves and leaving a little green. Make sure too wash them in cold water and dry. Slice the ramps thin, about a quarter inch. Chop the garlic well and sauté in olive oil at a medium heat. Add the ramps and continue cooking for 3 minutes until they are wilted. Pour into a sieve or use a slotted spoon to remove; place on a sheet tray and season with salt and pepper, cool. Place your honey into a mixing bowl and add your ramps. Let this sit for 2 hours to develop the flavor.

On 2 pieces of bread spread the ramp honey on one side and the cheese on the other. Place the ramp honey side on top; and press lightly to adhere the sides. In a large non-stick sauté pan; melt the butter on a medium high heat and wait until the butter stops sizzling; add your grilled cheese and cook until a nice golden brown. With a spatula, turn the bread over and place in the oven. In 5 to 7 minutes the Comte should be melted; take out of the pan and place on a sheet tray and let it set. If you wish, slice off the crusts (don’t forget to eat them), and cut your bread into your desired shape.

Katchkie Farm in Kinderhook, NY is dear to our hearts, not only because that is our local, organic farm; but because it allows us to educate children on food and where it comes from via the Sylvia Center. Katchkie Farm has recently become one of our wedding venues.