A Salad to Welcome Spring

Spring alliums signal the start of the new season at the farmers market, and Culinary Arts Chef-Instructor Rémy Forgues created a dish that stars spring onions, spring garlic and ramps. His Spring Allium Salad uses three fundamental cooking techniques: pickling, charring and blanching to build flavor and add dimension. Paired with prosciutto and burrata, the spring produce is incorporated as a salad component and also stirred together to create a dressing.

If you’re not familiar with these alliums, here’s a quick rundown:

• The allium family include onions, garlic, chives, ramps and leeks. 
• Ramps are a sign that winter is over as they are the first spring vegetable in the market. They have a mild garlic flavor. Chef Rémy suggests wilting or charring the leaves to cook, fermenting them like sauerkraut or even dehydrating them to make ramp salt. The stems can be pickled and incorporated into salads, like in his recipe below.
• Spring garlic has a light garlic flavor. Their green tops are plentiful, so get creative in how you use them. According to Chef Rémy they are delicious as a pasta filling or in risotto, and can even be used to make allium stock.
• Spring onions, aka scallions, have a mild onion flavor and become sweet when grilled or charred. 

 

 

 

 

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Think of Chef Rémy’s recipe as a template as new vegetables come into season. Asparagus and zucchini would be great additions during April and May, and fresh peas hit the market at the end of May.

Happy cooking!

More from this series:

• Chef Penny's Bourbon Sweet Potato Quick Bread
• What is a Jerusalem Artichoke?
• Celery Root with Sage
• Eggplant Manti with Chef Nin
• Chef Penny's Concord Grape Tart 
• Rosemary-Walnut Squash with Chef Gill

Recipe

Spring Allium Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 bunch ramps
• 1 bunch spring onions
• 1 bunch spring garlic
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 
• Salt
• Sugar
• 10-15 snap peas
• 2 pounds English peas, remove peas from pod
• Red pepper flakes
• Olive oil
• 4-6 ounces burrata
• 6 pieces prosciutto 

Directions

Prep and Clean the Alliums:

1. Trim and discard the ramp roots. Separate the stems from the leaves. Wipe the stems clean and place in a heat-proof container. Rinse the leaves a solution of cold water and white distilled vinegar then let dry on a paper towel lined sheet tray. 
2. Cut the spring onion and garlic tops from the bulbs. Wash the tops and dry with the ramp leaves.

Quick Pickle the Ramp Stems:

1. Add 1 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup water, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar to a small pot over high heat. Bring the pickling liquid to a boil. Pour over the ramp stems and cover. The ramps will be pickled once the liquid reaches room temperature.
2. Once pickled, thinly slice the stems.

Blanch Vegetables:

1. Bring a pot of heavily salted water up to a boil. Blanch the snap peas (you want a little crunch left), English peas (until soft on the outside with a little bite in the center), spring garlic (till tender) and spring onion (green is collapsing but white is tender), and immediately put into an ice bath to stop cooking. Once cold, lay on a paper towel lined sheet tray to dry.
2. Cut the snap peas on a bias, and slice the spring onions and garlic.

Char the Leaves:

1. Over a grill on high heat, char the ramp leaves and tops of the spring onion and garlic. If you don’t have a grill, you can do this with a dry cast iron pan.
2. Roughly chop the charred leaves.

Make the Dressing:

1. Combine the pickled ramps and charred leaves with a pinch of salt and red pepper flakes. Add pickling liquid and olive oil to taste and stir until it comes together. 

Plate:

1. Slice burrata and add to plate with prosciutto. Top with blanched vegetables and drizzle charred dressing on top.