13-05-2025
Chefs Nationwide Are Honoring Ramp Season In Some Delicious Ways
Ramp season is known for being so fleeting, many don't even know it's time until that window has passed.
This wild leek is generally found in the eastern part of the country between late March and mid-May – and chefs are so inspired by its arrival, the delicacy is often discovered in the most intriguing of dishes and cocktails.
The Zbieracz at Little Walter's in Philadelphia.
The Zbieracz, more casually referred to as Ramp Gibson, is found at Little Walter's in Philadelphia, and made with Smalec-washed gin, vermouth, house-made ramp brine, and pickled ramps.
"We knew we wanted to use pickled ramps in a cocktail so the natural progression was a Gibson, replacing the pickled pearl onion with house-pickled ramps. We then decided to use a smalec wash on the gin to keep it Polish-inspired!' said Michael Brenfleck, chef and owner of Little Walter's.
Sketches of Spain at Stretch Pizza in New York City.
On the menu now at Stretch Pizza in New York City, this unique seasonal pizza is made with Romesco sauce, grilled ramps, mozzarella, and parmesan.
"The Sketches is inspired by my many travels to Spain, specifically Catalonia. There, they hold spring festivals (Calcotada) celebrating the calcot, a type of green onion. The calcot is grilled over flames and served with a romesco dipping sauce. The festivals are super fun and festive and while calcots don't exist in the US, ramps do, and I felt it would be great to pay homage to this region near to my heart, with this special pie," said celebrity chef Wylie Dufresne.
Ramp Gibson at The Corner Store in New York City.
At The Corner Store in New York City, this seasonal take on the classic Gibson replaces the traditional pickled onion you may find in a cocktail such as this with house-pickled ramp stems (brought in from the local farmers market, of course!).
'I love Gibsons in general because they are crisp, savory, and just funky enough to have some character. Swapping in ramps (instead of the traditional pearl onion) gives this cocktail a seasonal twist that feels special but still true to the original—almost as though spring snuck into your martini in just the right way," said Lucas Robinson, Beverage Director at CATCH Hospitality Group.
Foraged Ramp Tarte at Carmel in Atlanta.
At Carmel in Atlanta, Foraged Ramp Tarte contains tarragon custard and is topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
"At Carmel, we preserve our ramps for use year-round. We recently used them in an amuse including ramp and creme fraiche," said Executive Chef Brandon Hughes.
Asparagus with Brown Butter at The Duck & The Peach in Washington, DC.
At The Duck & The Peach in Washington, DC, in this Asparagus with brown butter, Béarnaise, pickled ramps, and hazelnuts dish, ramps are pickled for a whole other context to this seasonal addition.
'I love using ramps. They bring a complex allium flavor. They're all over our menu right now…in our rockfish, our crab risotto and in our asparagus. For the asparagus dish, I pickled the ramp bottoms which enhances their flavor and also adds a tangy twist," said Executive Chef Kat Petonito.
Third Coast Martini at Hawksmoor Chicago.
Hawksmoor Chicago offers a Martini Mates series featuring top bars across Chicago offering seasonal cocktails that benefit their charity of choice. Their May and June cocktail, the Third Coast Martini, is in collaboration with Daisies Chicago benefitting the Chicago Fire Department's EMWQ Widows & Children's Fund .
This cocktail includes both gin and oyster shell-infused vodka (a brilliant way they discovered to reuse and make the most of shucked oyster shells, part of the sustainability efforts at both Daisies and Hawksmoor), ramps for mineralogy and an umami kick, all balanced out with tart pickled rhubarb.
Zach Ballard, Assistant General Manager and co-creator of the Third Coast Martini says: "The recipe for the Third Coast Martini was a collaborative effort, where I had a chance to work with Nicole Yarovinsky from massive on seasonality and as timing would have it, ramps were just starting to flourish, so it made sense to use them. Ramps have a unique and powerful allium flavor that pairs really well with the oyster shell vodka we created. We lacto ferment the ramps briefly to amp up the flavor even more, which gives us a salty umami base to mix with our sweeter and more acidic rhubarb brine. The cocktail as a whole drinks like a complex Gibson that champions flavors of the Midwest.'
Ramp + Green Garlic Cream Cheese at Flour Moon Bagels in New Orleans.
At Flour Moon Bagels in New Orleans, this dish is made with ramps, green garlic stalks, cream cheese and salt. "Ramps only grow in the wild and have a very short season, so chefs love to get their hand on them when they can. They have a sharp flavor profile that's somewhat between raw garlic and onions. We combine them with green garlic, which their seasons align, for an eye-opening, pungent seasonal allium cream cheese. We chop the white crunchy parts and leave them raw like we do our scallion cream cheese. We then blanch the greens and puree them to get a pretty, bright green color," said Breanne Kostyk, chef/owner.
Crab & Ramp Risotto at Zasu in New Orleans.
At Zasu in New Orleans, a beautiful risotto featuring ramp bottoms and jumbo lump crab. "We love using ramps as much as we can during their short season. We source as many as we can and preserve them, pickle them, add them to compound butters, or just highlight them fresh, you name it! The garlicky punch of fresh ramps along with the briny sweetness of gulf blue crab really elevates this classic risotto recipe into something much more," said Chef Sue Zemanick.
Soft Shell Crabs with Ramps Three Ways at Red Horse by David Burke at the historic Bernards Inn in ... More Bernardsville, New Jersey.
At Red Horse by David Burke at the historic Bernards Inn in Bernardsville, New Jersey, the soft shells, seasoned with Old Bay and turmeric are tempura fried. They rest on charred ramp and avocado mousse and are accompanied by honey roasted peaches tossed in pickled ramp vinaigrette, along with English peas and cherry tomatoes complemented by charred ramp aioli.
"The soft shells, ramps, and peaches all come into season during the spring. Two of them for a very limited time - the soft-shell crabs and the ramps, which are a classic springtime combination. Drawing on that combination we wanted to highlight the earthy, pungent and somewhat garlicky flavor of the ramps by utilizing them in three elements of the dish," said Chris Shea, vice president of culinary development for David Burke Hospitality.
Fava Bean Sope at The Popal Group's Pascual in Washington, DC.
At The Popal Group's Pascual in Washington, DC, Fava Bean Sope is served with smoked goat ricotta, ramp, and mole verde. 'Our new Fava Bean Sope is a take on mole that you likely wouldn't see in Mexico. It's our way of connecting Mexican flavors with our mission to work with the best local produce from local farmers. The ramp makes the dish bright and timely for Spring while still maintaining our favorite Mexican techniques and flavors,' said Executive Chef Isabel Coss.
