Last Night’s Dinner

One could argue that everything is better with bacon; after our meal last night, I am inclined to agree.

Mike picked up a couple of smallish whole brook trout from Max Creek Hatchery at the Greenmarket yesterday, as well as a bunch of ramps and package of Tamarack Hollow’s excellent bacon. While he got a fire going in the new grill, I seasoned the trout inside and out with a little kosher salt, stuffed their bellies with ramps, and wrapped three strips of bacon around each fish, threading toothpicks through the ends to secure them.

The fish went onto the grill and we cooked them for about 12 minutes a side over indirect heat. The bacon basted the fish as it cooked, and the fat kept the fish from sticking to the grate. The ramps got crisp on the ends and picked up a delicious smoky flavor, and the fish stayed moist and tender encased in its porky cocoon. I quickly sautéed a bunch of young mustard greens in a bit of olive oil and sliced up a greenhouse tomato to serve alongside (still not as good as our home-grown tomatoes when they’re in-season, but surprisingly tasty).

This meal was incredibly simple and beyond delicious. After about two bites we ditched our silverware and just started eating with our fingers! We’ll definitely do this one again.

We kicked off a lovely weekend with a couple of Seelbachs while Mike prepped the grill and cooked up some delicious pork chops and roasted fingerlings with ramps (packeted in foil with a good bath of olive oil, salt and pepper and tossed right onto the grill).

We had a show to see on Saturday, so we ate an early dinner out at Fette Sau in Williamsburg. If you’re a fan of barbecue, good beer and whiskies, check it out.

Sunday was a cool but pretty day, and we headed into the city early to run a few errands. We started off by heading to Fried Dumpling for dumplings and pork buns, then from there stopped to pick up a few things at the Tompkins Square Park Greenmarket, Gracefully, and the newest Whole Foods on Bowery before heading back home. The chill and wind made for less-than-ideal grilling conditions, but Mike consoled himself by cooking up a batch of delicious buttermilk fried chicken and flaky buttermilk biscuits indoors.

The forecast calls for warmer temperatures as the week goes on, we’ve got some beautiful springtime ingredients to use in the coming days, and we are very much looking forward to spending much of the week cooking and dining alfresco, but I’ll never complain about a good meal of comfort food on a cool Spring evening.

One of the surest signs of spring in these parts is the appearance of ramps at markets and on menus around town. For those of you who may not have heard of them before, ramps are a variety of wild leek native to states along the eastern coast of the U.S. from the Carolinas northward. They’re only around for a short time, and they’re delicious, so when they’re available, we tend to binge on them.

When word got out on Saturday that the ramps had finally hit Union Square, we were sure that they’d be gone by the time we made it in to the city, but to our surprise and delight, there were plenty left when we arrived. We grabbed four fat bunches and began brainstorming.

I recently saw a segment on NY1 featuring chef April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig; they did a brief interview and shot lots of footage of her in the kitchen, and I noticed at one point she was preparing bundles of ramps with the stems wrapped in bacon. I used half of our ramps in that preparation as part of our Sunday brunch, and we decided to use the remainder for Monday’s dinner in an equally simple preparation – spaghetti with ramps. I basically riffed on Mario Batali’s recipe, tinkering with the proportions a bit and spiking the toasted breadcrumbs with a bit of lemon zest to brighten up the flavors. It’s a delicious dish, quick and easy to put together, and it really lets the flavor of the ramps shine through.

Spaghetti with Ramps

2 bundles small ramps, cleaned and trimmed (ours were very small so we used them whole; if you have larger ramps, separate the white and green parts, and allow the whites to cook for a few minutes before adding the greens)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
Kosher salt
1/3 to 3/4 lb. thin spaghetti
1/8 cup breadcrumbs, toasted
Zest of 1/2 lemon

Cook spaghetti in an abundant amount of boiling salted water about 7 minutes, until it is just short of al dente.

While the spaghetti cooks, warm the olive oil in a skillet. Add the ramps, chile flakes and a pinch of salt and sauté until bright green. Add the spaghetti with a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water and toss through. Allow the pasta to continue cooking another minute or two and serve in warmed bowls. Mix breadcrumbs and lemon zest and sprinkle on top of the pasta.

Pork chop stuffed with leftover Porchetta stuffing; sauteed broccoli rabe

Scrambled eggs, wholegrain toast, bacon-wrapped ramps

Pork spareribs, borrachos and smashed Ruby Crescents spiked with homemade Caesar dressing