Sasha's Kitchen: Bucatini with Cauliflower and Ramps

I'm really into making pasta dishes with spring vegetables right now.  I love using everyuthing that's seasonal.  I'm happy to say that I scored the first rhubarb of the season at Union Market in Park Slope and am making a rhubarb crumble pie this weekend (posting it soon!).  In the meantime, I've been enjoying making some vegetable pastas.  Ramps finally arrived at FreshDirect just before Passover so I made this delicious dish just before passover started.  Ramps, if you are not familiar with them, are wild onions, usually gathered by hand.  They are a bit of a cross between leeks and wild garlic.  I like using them in pasta dishes during their short season.  Some people also like to make pickled ramps, but I haven't tried that yet.  Next week, I'll be making swiss chard ravioli dough with ramps/ricotta/marscarpone cheese and a rose vodka sauce.  Here's the first garden fresh pasta of the spring.

Sasha's Bucatini with Cauliflower and Ramps
1 lb bucatini pasta
florets from one cauliflower head, diced into small pieces
1 bunch of ramps, diced
zest of half a lemon
extra virgin olive oil
1 pint halved yellow grape tomatoes
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

To make this dish, first saute the cauliflower in a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, for about ten minutes, until soft.  Add the lemon zest and the ramp bulbs (separated from the green part of the ramps) and cook antoher two minutes.  Then add the diced green part of the ramps and the yellow tomatoes and saute another few minutes until the tomatoes are softened and shriveled.  In the meantime, cook the bucatini (hollow tubular pasta) according to the package instructions.  Toss the panko bread crumbs in with the vegables and mix in the pasta.  You can add a bit more olive oil if needed, and be sure to reserve a bit of the pasta water and add that in as well. This was delicious!

Sasha's Kitchen: Bucatini with Cauliflower and Ramps

Sasha's Kitchen: Bucatini with Ramps and Fiddlehead Ferns

I will share my much awaited recipe for beef sauerbraten with sweet and sour cabbage and pretzel dumplings tomorrow - just don't have time to write it up today, as we are headed off to spend the day with family. But, in the meantime, I wanted to share a fantastic spring pasta dish that uses the fabulous, hollow tubular bucatini, and one of my favorite spring vegetables - ramps, or wild leeks. Nothing could be better than that little bit of garden fresh onion green with your bucatini, trust me. My mom also has been talking up fiddlehead ferns, another delicious green vegetable that you can only get this time of year, so I threw those in as well. The first time I tried making them, I seasoned them badly and they looked like fried insects, but not this time - everything was sautéed in butter and olive oil, with some panko breadcrumbs for a delicious, garden fresh, spring dinner!

Sasha's Spring Garden Pasta with Ramps and Fiddlehead Ferns
1 12oz package of bucatini
1 large bunch of ramps, finely chopped, bulbs removed
4 oz fiddlehead ferns
3 T butter
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup panko breadcrumbs

First, sauté the ramps and fiddlehead ferns in the butter in a large saute pan. Saute the fiddlehead ferns first, for about 3-4 minutes, then add the ramps and saute another five minutes, until the ramps are well cooked and wilted and the fiddlehead ferns are soft. When adding the ramps, add a half teaspoon (less or more to taste) of red pepper flakes.

In the meantime, prepare the bucatini in a pot of salted boiling water. Toast the breadcrumbs on a frying/saute pan for a few minutes until lightly browned.  When the pasta is cooked, add it to the pan with the butter/ramps/fiddlehead ferns. Add a tablespoon or two of the leftover pasta water (a trick I learned from watching the Food Network), and two to three tablespoons of olive oil, and sauté the pasta for a minute or so, until everything is evenly mixed. Mix in the toasted panko and serve.

Sasha's Kitchen: Bucatini with Ramps and Fiddlehead Ferns