Pop-up ingredients elevate the season’s dishes
Few things spell spring quite so alluringly as garlicky ramps, wild morels and tender green asparagus. They bring the taste of nature awakening, at once earthy, fresh and invigorating. Drape fried morels over a slice of homemade caramelized onion bread. Stir pearl barley into a creamy hotness with fresh asparagus and beautiful ramps. And guess what: Those pickled ramps literally go with anything.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups warm water
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon rosemary
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- Caramelized ramps (recipe below)
- Olive oil
- “Everything” bagel seasoning or sesame seeds
- 20 ramps (or scallions), cleaned and chopped
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon raw sugar
- 2–3 tablespoons water
- ½ pound fresh morel mushrooms
- 1 cup flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic power
- 4 tablespoons butter
Instructions
FRIED MORELS WITH CARAMELIZED RAMP BREAD
Growing up in Northern Indiana, my family hunted for morel mushrooms each spring. These treats were savored by all of us. They were washed, rolled in flour, fried in butter and eaten with a piece of white bread and butter. Here’s is a take on that deliciousness updated for 2021.
Sliced caramelized ramp bread (recipe below)
Fried morel mushrooms
Ricotta cheese
Salt
Sliced ramps
Fresh lemon
Slice the caramelized ramp bread to desired thickness. Spread ricotta cheese on the bread; top with morel mushrooms, salt and scallions; squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top of the bread.
NO-KNEAD CARAMELIZED RAMP DUTCH OVEN BREAD
In a large bowl, mix together the water, yeast, salt, garlic and rosemary and stir until mixed well. Allow to sit for 5 minutes to proof. Add the flour to the yeast mixture and with a scraper mix together until all flour is wet. Add in the caramelized onions and fold together until mixture is sticky. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the bread and form into a ball. Cover with a towel and allow to double in size at room temperature. This will take 2–3 hours.
Once bread has doubled in size, place your Dutch oven into the oven and preheat the oven to 450°. Once oven reaches 450°, leave Dutch oven in for another 15 minutes. While oven is preheating place a large piece of parchment paper on the counter and sprinkle with flour. Dump the dough into the middle of the parchment paper and roll it around until the bread is covered with flour and not sticky. Place bread in the middle of the parchment. Remove the Dutch oven with oven mitts and place the parchment paper and bread inside the Dutch oven, cover and bake for 35 minutes. Remove lid and cook uncovered for another 8–10 minutes, until it has a beautiful brown color. Allow to cool slightly before slicing.
CARAMELIZED RAMPS
In a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Once butter has a slight brown to it, stir in the chopped ramps. Stir the ramps often for 5–7 minutes, until they begin to get translucent. Stir in the sugar making sure the ramps are coated, and cook for another 1–2 minutes making sure they do not stick or burn to the pain. Add in 2–3 tablespoons of water and continue to stir and cook the ramps for another 10 minutes. Once they have a brownish color and are slightly sticky, remove from heat and allow to cool.
FRIED MORELS
Wash and dry the morel mushrooms. Place flour in a bowl with the salt, pepper and garlic. Set aside. Place a medium cast-iron skillet on medium heat with butter. Once butter is melted, flour the morel mushrooms and place them in the skillet. Do not crowd the mushrooms so they will cook more even. Turn morels with tongs after about 2–3 minutes, watching them carefully as to not burn them. Fry for another 2–3 minutes, remove and place on a paper towel. Continue until all mushrooms are fried.
