Phyllo Tart with Ramps, Tomato and Cheese

A phyllo tart is an attractive dish for entertaining and it's also exceptionally versatile when mixing flavours and styles.  I recently created a Leek, Asparagus and Mushroom Tart for Edible Ottawa magazine's May issue. Today's lunch was a take on this tart with a change up to the cheeses I used and the vegetables for decorating.  This tart was even easier since I didn't do a full filling 

Tarts like these can be used as a starter course for a dinner party, a main component on a lunch plate or even cut into multiple pieces to serve as hors d'oeuvres.

Enjoy your launch into spring entertaining.

INGREDIENTS

PASTRY

3 sheets of phyllo pastry

1 to 2 tablespoons melted butter

3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

FILLING

3 oz Fontina cheese, thin slices

2 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

4 small ramps

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

3 oz small tomatoes, halved

salt and pepper

olive oil

METHOD

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cut 3 sheets phyllo in half crosswise. Brush melted butter and a touch of mustard on each sheet and overlap so that the sheets are staggered lengthwise and can cover a 14-inch by 4 to 5-inch tart pan.

Place into the tart pan and pleat in the edges.

Place the Fontina cheese into a single layer on bottom of the tart. 

Chiffonade the leaves from 3 of the ramps. Thinly slice their bulbs. Sprinkle half of the prepared ramps over the Fontina cheese. As well, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of the fresh thyme.

Layer on the shredded mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle on the remaining prepared ramps and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of fresh thyme.

Feel free to adjust the amount of ramps and thyme you want to use according to your tastes.

Place a whole ramp decoratively over the cheese.  Arrange the tomato halves around the ramp.

Season with salt and pepper and lightly drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes until the phyllo is golden and the cheese has melted and is showing colour. Check after 20 minutes to see if it should be covered with foil for the remaining time.

Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.

4th Annual Rampfest

The ramp season was a bit later this year because of the much cooler spring. But ramp enthusiasts patiently waited for the tender greens to reach their prime. Also referred to as the spring onion, wild leek or wild garlic, this spring plant peaks in May. Both the tender greens and the bulb are edible. The greens will eventually die off, so they are best as new shoots.



We have enjoyed ramps for a few years now but our harvest is always in Ontario and done on properties with permission. Picking ramps in Quebec is illegal since the Quebec government declared ramps an endangered species in 1995. So no surprise that there is now a black market. Not only are pickers skulking about in the middle of the night in La Belle Provence, poachers are also trespassing on Ontario properties where ramps are growing abound. Ramps can be over-harvested, thus ruining the ramp bed. Conscientious pickers will limit their harvest to less than a third of the clump.

I have heard that a single ramp stem can sell for as much as $1. This makes the black market business very lucrative. Certainly quick money for the month of May.

The Ottawa Citizen published an article recently on this ramp fever.



Again this year we were hosted by good friends at the 4th Annual Rampfest. The crowd of 40 some not only enjoy ramps, they enjoy good food and good company.

All dishes, except for the desserts, have ramps incorporated into them in some fashion. Some brought tried and true favourites, while others tried their hand at a new creation. No matter what dish we had, none of us seemed to grow weary of the allium tricoccum bounty.

*** APPETIZERS ***

Pickled Ramps


Ramp, Bacon, Olive & Sun-dried Tomato Bread


Ramp Frittata


Bacon Ramp Terrine with Beef, Foie Gras & Mushrooms


Maritime Seafood Chowder with Double Smoked Bacon & Ramps




Bouillabaisse Terrine with Ramp Rouille


Ramp Stuffed Chicken Thighs




Ramp Focaccia


Ramp Focaccia


Gambas with Ramps and Gnocchi


Ramp Lasagna




Chorizo with Pickled Ramps

*** MAIN COURSE ***

Ramp & Maple Syrup Marinated Beef Tenderloin with Ramp & Horseradish Mayo


Salmon Poached in White Wine & Ramp Leaves


Ramp & Cucumber Salad


German Potato Salad with Ramp Dressing

*** DESSERTS ***

4-Biter World Famous Butter Tarts [recipe included here]


Toffee Pudding


Carrot Cake


Cheeses with Ramp Jelly & Fruit [no picture]

Can Canned Salmon Be a $12 Sandwich? The Mister Says 'Yes!'

One of the challenges of working out of your home is that the 'cafeteria' can sometimes be lacking. Lacking in ingredients. Lacking in imagination. Lacking in staff.

The dream come true is to pull yourself away from the desk, stroll to the kitchen and find that your bistro lunch awaits. Well that didn't happen for me today but it was the pleasure the mister experienced. I decided to scrounge for the ingredients. I channeled my imagination. I volunteered to be that staff.

And voilà! Two open-faced sandwiches of toasted Art-is-in Boulangerie Dynamite Cheddar, Chive and Jalapeño baguette. Blanketed in thin slices of perfectly ripened avocado. Slathered with a salad of canned salmon loaded with real mayonnaise, ramps and gerkins. Then topped with a homemade preserve of red pepper and peach relish.

For this, I charged him $12 + tax!



The $12 Canned Salmon Sandwich

1 three-inch piece of Art-is-in Boulangerie Dynamite Cheddar, Chive and Jalapeño baguette, thawed, cut in half and toasted
1 can of salmon, deboned and drained
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 ramp leaf and bulb, very finely chopped
2 gerkins, very finely chopped
salt and pepper
1 ripe avocado, sliced
Red Pepper and Peach Relish

Cover the two toasted halves of bread with avocado slices.

Combine the salmon, mayonnaise, ramps, and gerkins. Adjust the ingredients to your taste. Lightly salt and pepper. There is enough salad to generously cover 4 open-faced sandwiches.

Top each open-faced sandwich with a teaspoon of red pepper and peach relish.

Arrange artfully on a contemporary bistro-styled plate. Provide a linen napkin. Serve with love!

Pickled Ramps - A Season Coming To Its End

We brought home a very full grocery bag of ramps from the 3rd Annual Rampfest in May. And we are feeling pretty proud of ourselves for seeing each one put to good use. We made ramp risotto, scrambled eggs with ramps and cheese, ramp pesto, two batches of pull apart dinner rolls with ramps and cheese, and finally the remainder went to pickled ramps.

Our ramp friends, Fred and Catherine, so kindly shared their own recipe for pickled ramps. The ramps have been 'pickling' for two weeks now. We tried them after one week and they were still a little young. But today I could taste the age coming on. They are are their way! Until next season.

FRED'S PICKLED RAMPS

2 cup white vinegar
1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
10 whole allspice
3 medium bay leaves, crumpled
4 whole cloves
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorn
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
4 cup ramp bulbs, with our without greens (about 1 lb.)

Bring all ingredients, except ramps, to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Add ramps. Once everything comes back to full boil take off heat and put into ice bath to cool rapidly. Ramps should be 'al dente'. If boiled more than 15 seconds they will get too soft and mushy, especially if they are small.

Put into clean, boiled sealer jars, ensuring liquid covers ramps. Let marinate at least a week. They will store in sealer jars for a year (improving with age, like a good wine!)

Homemade Ramp and Cheddar Cheese Dinner Rolls

I found a recipe recently called Homemade Pull Apart Dinner Rolls on the blog of Amanda's Cookin'. Having an abundance of ramps from Sunday's picking, now everything at home is getting 'ramped'! The rolls are fast to make with the quick acting yeast. And they were a hit at the dinner table. The Fleur de Sel on top [sparingly!] was just the perfect accent. I will definitely make these again.











HOMEMADE PULL APART DINNER ROLLS

1 package quick-acting active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp bulk quick acting yeast)
1 1/3 cup milk (105 to 115ºF degrees)
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour or whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ramps, bulbs and some greens, chopped and lightly sautéed
1/2 cup grated old cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon melted butter
coarse salt [I used Fleur de Sel and sparingly]

Dissolve yeast in warm milk with sugar in electric mixer bowl. Stir in 1 cup flour, oil, and salt. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour, cooled ramps and cheddar cheese, scraping dough from side of bowl, until soft dough forms. Cover and let rise in warm place until double, about 45 minutes.

Heat oven 400ºF. Punch down dough in center and fold over a few times. Prep a 12 cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pinch off 1 inch balls of dough and quickly roll in palm of hands. Put 3 balls to one muffin cup, brush with melted butter; sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake until crust is light golden brown, about 15 minutes. Immediately remove from pan. Store loosely covered.

The Banquet of the Ramp (Wild Leek) - 3rd Annual Rampfest

For those of you who don't know ramps they are wild leeks. Some call them wild garlics. They tend to be of the same season as fiddleheads and morel mushrooms and are found in wooded areas.

Sunday had us up in the depths of beautiful Lanark County at a private gathering of the 3rd Annual Rampfest. The spread was delicious and everything ramps. In addition to the great food, company, weather and view, some keen foragers hit the woods in search of ramps.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

STARTERS!!


Smoked Salmon Terrine with Asparagus & Ramp Pesto served with slices of baguette and also gluten-free crackers.


Pickled Ramps.


Pork Shoulder and Pork Jowl Sausages with Ramps.





Ramp and Morel Risotto in the making.


Ramp and Morel Risotto served with Anise Seared Duck Breast.


Pig-tail Shrimp with a Provencal Style Ramp Sauce.


Louis's Shrimp Dumpling with Spicy Tomato Sauce and Ramp Oil.


Baked Brie with Ramps and Sun-dried Tomatoes.


Chorizo Sausage with Grilled Ramps.

***

MAIN!!


Salmon Poached in White Wine & Ramp Leaves.


Russian Cucumber & Ramp Salad.


German Potato Salad with Ramp Dressing.


Ramp Marinated Beef Tenderloin on a bun with Ramp & Horseradish Mayo. [Plus on the plate is much of the above.]

***

THE FINISH!!! [No ramps required in these dishes]


Cheese board with Ramp Jelly and Grapes.


Blackstock Fair Award Winning (circa 1978) Apple Pie. [I made the pies!]





Rhubarb and Pistachio Cake.


Pascale's famous ice cream from The Piggy Market. Flavour - French Vanilla. To accompany the Rhubarb and Pistachio Cake.


Carrot Cake.