Embrace Spring, Celebrate the Ramp

Ramp Fest 2014, the culinary revel in the early edibles of spring, is just days away--on Saturday, May 3. Gossips has gotten word of what some of the chefs are preparing for this gustatory rite of spring. So to stimulate your palate, here's the list:

Ramp blini with ramp cured smoked trout & ramp Kim chi--Another Fork in the Road, Chef Jamie Parry

Ramp butter puff pastry pigs in a blanket with ramp relish--Bonfiglio & Bread, Chef Gaby Gulielmetti

Grilled ramp polenta with goat cheese and ramp pesto tapanade with Hudson Valley Foie Gras smoked duck--Ca' Mea, Chef Timothy Storrs

Country terrine, pickled ramps, buckwheat crisp--The Farm on Adderley, Chef Tom Kearney

Bluefish with creme fraiche, beets, ramp and duck skin--Fresh Company, Chef Shelley Boris

Savory tart with ramp pesto, pickled ramps, and Parmigiano--Gigi Hudson Valley, Chefs Wilson Costa & Laura Pensiero

Ramp and goat cheese custard, Carolina rice, ramp-walnut pesto--The Heath and Gallow Green at the McKettrick Hotel, Chef R. L. King

Grilled ramps folded with Anson Mills grits with Rawson Brook Farm goat cheese topped with smoked tomato aioli--Helsinki Hudson, Chef Hugh Horner 

Ramp greens-pressed house-made High Lawn Farm ricotta-Pigasso Farm smoked ham terrine, ramp-pepitas pesto, Mill River Farm micro greens--John Andrews Farmhouse, Chef Dan Smith 

Fava bean and ramp hummus with rhubarb-ramp confiture--Lucas Confectionary, Chef Mike Rock 

Salmon tartar with ramp pesto and crostini--Market Street, Chef Gianni Scappin

Baby quiche with ramps, local eggs, and Von Trapp Oma cheese--Route 7 Grill, Chef Christophe Jalbert

Fresh mozzarella, grilled ramp salsa verde, grilled asparagus and portabella, lavender lemon preserve--Speedy Romeo, Chef Justin Bazdarich

House-cured bacon, tomato confit, ramp mayo, sauteed ramps on a challah roll--Swoon, Chef Ryan McLaughlin

For those more inspired by pictures of food than by verbal descriptions, here are some of the delectable comestibles offered at last year's Ramp Fest.

Ramp Fest 2014 takes place at Basilica Hudson from 12 noon until 4 p.m. Click here for more information and to secure your tickets.

Photos by Richard A. Smith