Risotto Cake with Crispy Ramps - Recipe

Risotto cake with crispy ramps and a fried egg

Ramps are one of the classic spring foods, along with asparagus, morels, fiddlehead ferns and eggs. If you haven't had ramps, they look a lot like scallions that grew are a big green leaf on top, and indeed they are in the allium family. They have an intense garlicky aroma and flavor that inspires passionate devotees. Throughout Appalachia, small towns host ramp festivals where they crown Ramp Queens and hold contests to see who can eat the most of these pungent treats.

With the huge uptick in interest in traditional and wild foods, ramps have become much more readily available of late. In Seattle we see them at farmer's markets and Pike Place. There is some debate and confusion as to whether they are being foraged wild in this area, farmed, or brought in from afar. (If anyone has a definitive answer, I'd love to know.)

I decided to use ramps in a rather rich dish, fried crispy and served on top of a risotto cake with a fried egg. This could be a hangover breakfast, though I'd serve it anytime. I only used the white parts of the ramps this time, but you could use the greens to make a pesto that would be a beautiful addition to this plate. I served it with well aged balsamic vinegar instead (not pictured).

Whenever I make risotto, I make extra so that I can have risotto cakes the next day. Usually it will hold together enough to fry without any additions, but if it is falling apart, just stir in a beaten egg.  If you don't have leftover risotto, you could do this dish with grilled toast (brioche, ideally), or even a savory French toast.

Risotto Cake with Crispy Ramps
Vegetarian and gluten-free; not vegan
Makes 1

• 6 ramps, white parts only, trimmed and halved lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup leftover risotto (any kind without too many mixins)
• 1 egg
• salt
• a few oregano leaves
• aged balsamic vinegar

1. Melt the butter over a medium-high flame. Fry the ramps, keeping the temperature just below where the butter will burn. Cook until well browned. Season with salt. Remove the ramps, leaving the butter behind.
2. Form the risotto into about a 3.5" wide patty, 1/2" thick. If it won't hold together, you can mix in a beaten egg. You can use a ring mold to form it more neatly if you like. In the same frying pan, cook the risotto cake on both sides until deep golden brown. Remove to a warmed plate and season with salt.
3. In the same pan, adding a little more butter if needed, fry the egg until the white is done and the yolk is still liquid. (Insert standard disclaimer about the safety of eating undercooked eggs - use your own judgement). Again if you like, you can use a well oiled ring mold to hold the shape. It is helpful to add a little water and cover the pan to get the top of the whites to cook.
4. To serve, put the egg on top of the risotto cake, and the ramps on top of the egg. Garnish with oregano leaves and a drizzle of well aged balsamic vinegar.

Grilled Tofu and Pepper Vegetarian Tacos - Recipe

Vegetarian tacos filled with grilled tofu and peppers, flavored with achiote

The secret to delicious Mexican vegetarian food (or vegan, for that matter) is to amp up the flavors and use lots of contrasting textures. These vegetarian tacos have that serious street food flavor, filled with grilled tofu and sauteed peppers, all basted with tangy achiote. They are meant to be just two or three bites. Pick 'em up, lean over your plate, and get on in there or you'll be wearing some very tasty juices.

Making these tacos is easy, but to get started you'll need to gather and make some components:

• Top notch corn tortillas - if you can find a place that makes them locally, it will dominate the grocery store brands. (In Seattle, look no further than La Bendicion on Beacon Ave. Ask for them at the counter and you'll be rewarded with a steaming hot package of around fifty great tortillas for $2!)
• Ridiculously good guacamole
• Grilled pineapple salsa

If you haven't cooked with achiote (annatto) before, the easiest way is to buy a preground box. It comes as a slightly moist little brick. It isn't always easy to find the whole seeds. El Yucateco brand is nice because it doesn't have (or need) any synthetic food coloring added. It seems so silly that some brands add color, considering annatto already is a food coloring, the one typically used to give cheddar cheese that orange tint.

Grilled Tofu and Pepper Vegetarian Tacos
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free
Serves 4

• 1.5 ounces achiote "brick" paste (aka annatto)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons Tapatio or other hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 ounces extra firm tofu cut into 1/3" slabs and patted dry
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/3" slabs
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
• 24 corn tortillas

1. In a small bowl, break up the achiote with a fork and mash in the oil, a little at a time until it dissolves. Mix in the cumin, hot sauce and salt.
2. Heat up a grill or grill pan to a medium flame. Brush the tofu with the achiote oil on one side and grill until well marked. Brush the other side, flip, and grill. Repeat with the zucchini. Allow both to cool and then cut into 1/3" dice.
3. Heat up a frying pan over a medium-high flame. Add 2 tablespoons of the achiote oil. Saute the onion, garlic and bell peppers until very soft.
4. Add the tofu and zucchini to the pepper mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning. It may need more salt, or a little lime or lemon juice, or more chile heat.
5. Wrap the tortillas in a damp, clean dish towel and microwave for about 3 minutes until soft and warm.
6. To eat, lay down two tortillas. Top with a moderate scoop of the filling, a spoonfull of guacamole and the pineapple salsa. Pass more hot sauce for those who want it.

Grilled Pineapple Salsa - Recipe

Grilled pineapple salsa

I like this salsa for its bright flavors and simplicity - just a few ingredients, and you can throw it together in a few minutes of active time. I served it with tacos that I'll cover it my next post, but it could work well in a Southeast Asian context too, especially if you added lemongrass and/or ginger. It is plenty tasty to polish off with a bag of chips at midnight too; if there was a security camera in my kitchen, I could prove it.

You will have to butcher your own pineapple to make this, because if you buy it already cut up, it will be in chunks too small to grill effectively. I was going to describe how to do that, but it turns out there is a website devoted solely to that specific topic: howtocutapineapple.com. Talk about working a niche! Follow the pictures there through the part where the skin is fully removed, and then slice into vertical planks instead of horizontal. You'll only need half of it for this recipe, you can save the rest for a salad with tiny marshmallows and vegan spam chunks.

If you have a grill going for other reasons, just use that. If not, this Lodge cast-iron grill pan is a great alternative. It has a ridged grill on one side, which I used for the pineapple, and a flat griddle on the other, which I use for pancakes. Be sure and grill the pineapple long enough to drive off some moisture and develop caramelized flavors.

Grilled Pineapple Salsa
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free
Yields about 1.5 cups

• 1/2 fresh pineapple, sliced into 3/8" thick planks (see above)
• canola oil for grilling
• juice of one lime
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 1/4 to 1 jalapeno, depending on your heat preference, seeded and minced
• big handful of cilantro leaves
• salt to taste

1. Brush one side of each plank of pineapple with canola oil and sprinkle on a little salt. Grill over medium high heat until dark grill marks develop. Brush and salt the other side and grill until done.
2. Remove the pineapple from the grill, allow to cool until you can handle it safely, and cut into 3/8" dice.
3. Combine with all of the other ingredients. If not using right away, hold off on the cilantro so it stays bright. Taste and and salt, lime juice, heat as needed.