Ramp Ricotta Toasts

I'm officially declaring this the first in my Streak-of-Ramp-Recipes-Before-They're-All Gone posts. A couple of weekends ago, during one of the first truly sunny, warm Saturdays of the year, I got up at 7 AM, went for a long run from Williamsburg up to Greenpoint and back again, and then trotted (read: limped) over to the farmers' market in McCarren Park, in search of armfuls of spring produce. There, I found fat asparagus stalks, piles of edible flowers, wildflower honey, some of the overwintered broccoli rabe that I so love this time of year, and picked up a few pieces of Hot Bread Kitchen's m'smen bread to nibble on while I shopped too. And instead of feeling guilty about the carb overload, I patted myself firmly on the back for the skillful show of multitasking. I am very good at food justification. I consider this a talent.

What was noticeably missing from all the green glory were ramps. And so, picking up a tip from a fellow shopper, I headed over to the Brooklyn Kitchen, where I found a stack of fresh, pungent ramps with lots of beautiful dirt still clinging to the roots. I grabbed two bunches, hightailed it home, then spent the rest of the weekend making various ramps dishes consecutively, finding nothing wrong with having ramps play a (major) part in every meal through Monday morning. The first little snack I assembled was this simple ricotta toast made by toasting rounds of good bread in extra-virgin olive oil, spreading them with fresh ricotta, and topping them with sauteed ramps, edible flowers, and a sprinkling of Maldon salt (saute the ramps by cleaning them thoroughly, chopping them up, throwing the stems in a hot pan with a glug of olive oil, and then following them up with the leaves after a few minutes once the stems are nice and tender--the leaves will only need about a minute to wilt deliciously). Perfect for a little spring gathering. xo