Last night the Everyman and I embarked on a new road map to deliciousness.
After pickling ramp stalks on Sunday night, I was left with a gigantic colander full of wild leek leaves, with nary a plan in my head. Following some careful consideration (for all of about 30 seconds) it occurred to me that a warm spring tart might be in order. I’d tried to procure a lump of puff pastry whilst at Cheese Boutique, envisioning a wild leek puff pastry adventure, but once they were cleaned and the leaves separated, it seemed to me that I did not have enough to make both. Difficult decisions had to be made, and the pickled ramps won. Still left with a rather large bundle of tulip-ish leaves, I started to consider my options.
A quick taste was all it took to decide that a wilted preparation similar to spinach or kale was all that was required. The leaves were sautéed in nothing more than butter, coffee olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. After allowing them to cool a bit, I popped a few vol au vent shells into the oven to puff. Next, several small lardons of guanciale were finely diced and set aside. Then a few small rings of pickled red onion were plucked from their mason jar. Once the pastry was ready, the tops were popped off, the sautéed greens placed on the bottom, followed by guanciale nuggets, red onion slivers and grated parmagiano. For a brief moment I considered adding some finely chopped preserved lemon peel, but on second thought decided against it. Back into the oven they went to crispen the shells and slightly toast the cheese.
The tarts were a hit, with the Everyman especially. Part of that is probably due to his love of puffed, buttery pastry (a la crescent rolls), but at the end of the meal when he commented that wild leeks were awesome, I knew for sure that I’d won him over. I may mourn the fact that I did not get a chance to get all the ramps I wanted or deserved, but I will always remember this meal for it’s delicious simplicity. And that will remind me to stock up doubly so in order to make it again next year.
Guanciale, Ramp and Parmagiano Tart
4 tart shells or 1 sheet of puff pastry
reserved cleaned leaves from 0.5 lb of ramps
3 rashers guanciale, finely diced
6 rings red onion (fresh or pickled)
2 tbsp freshly grated parmagiano
1 tbsp butter
0.5 tbsp coffee olive oil
Saute clean, dried greens in the mixture of melted butter and olive oil. Allow to caramelize slightly and stir often, 6 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and put aside. Preheat oven to 400* and bake tart shells for 20 minutes. Once baked, remove shells from the oven, slice off the tops and continue with filling. Place a small layer of sautéed ramps on the bottom of the pastry shell, sprinkle with guanciale and red onion, then grate fresh parmagiano over top. Return to the oven for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown and all ingredients are warmed through. Serve immediately.
Makes 2 main course or 4 appetizer servings.
Until next time…
Tags: Cooking, guanciale, parmagiano reggiano, ramps, Recipes, red onion, The Cheese Boutique, wild leeks
