Ramping up for Spring

28 May

Ramps seemed to be all the rage on miscellaneous food blogs.  I heard that they are one of the first new spring veggies that come to the farmer’s markets so when I heard they were in stock in Union Square, I decided to try them.  A recipe that sounded delicious was a potato au gratin type dish that I actually could convert to a Weight Watchers recipe. (With my calculation and alterations, this made 4 portions and each portion was 5 points).

So we cut the ends off but used most of the rest (including the green leaves).

I also had beautiful multicolored potatoes from Fresh Direct.  It was all about the layering.

First a sliced potato layer.

Then a layer of the chopped ramps.

Til it fills the dish

I just loved the colors of all of this together

Then we topped it with milk (I went skim), grated cheese (I went fat free from Weight Watchers), and then sprinkled with parmesan cheese and some breadcrumbs.

And bake.  V’oila!

It needed a slotted spoon since the milk was a little watery, but the taste was SO. GOOD.

The ramps add a kind of scallion/garlicky flavor.

We also had it with miso tilapia (which was good, but not good enough to post the recipe)

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RECIPE
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Ingredients:

  • 4 med. potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 c. coarsely chopped ramps, including green tops
  • 1 c. milk (we went skim)
  • 1 (4 oz.) pkg. grated Cheddar cheese (we went for nonfat)
  • 1/2 c. fresh bread crumbs
  • Paprika (Optional… we went sans)

Directions:

  1. Preheat to 425 degrees.
  2. Place a layer of sliced potatoes in a greased 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  3. Place a layer of ramps on top of potatoes. Continue alternating layers, ending with potatoes on top layer.
  4. Pour milk over top. Sprinkle with cheese, bread crumbs and paprika.
  5. Bake covered at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.
  6. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

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