Ramp Pesto
Flavorful ramp pesto is a great way to extend the short season that ramps are available. Use it in all the delicious ways you'd use traditional pesto—toss it with pasta, spread it on sandwiches or pizza, or serve it with grilled fish or chicken. If you don't have enough ramps for this recipe, you can add basil, parsley or cilantro to make up the difference. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
Ramp Pesto Tips
Do you have to blanch the ramps before making pesto?
Blanching the ramps before making ramp pesto will help prevent the vibrant green color from turning brown due to oxidation. If you don't have time to blanch, you can skip this step. The pesto will be safe to eat, even though the color will change. Blanching the herbs for homemade basil pesto and homemade parsley pesto will also help maintain their bright green color. Our guide to how to blanch vegetables will help you execute this step perfectly.
What else can you put in ramp pesto?
Our recipe for ramp pesto uses Parmesan cheese and pine nuts, but you could substitute Romano and walnuts if you like. You could also add some basil, parsley or cilantro in place of some of the ramps if you were not able to find enough while foraging or shopping at your local farmers market. If you have extra ramps even after making ramp pesto, use them up in one of our other delicious ramp recipes.
How do you serve ramp pesto?
Use ramp pesto in all the delicious ways you'd use traditional pesto: Serve with your favorite fish recipes or use it as a spread to jazz up cold sandwich recipes. Toss it with homemade pasta for a meal that's made entirely from scratch!
—Peggy Woodward, Taste of Home Senior Food Editor
—Peggy Woodward, Taste of Home Senior Food Editor
