i still have ramps on the brain but green garlic also has my attention. these early spring harvest weeks bring both of them to the markets for a short time. the two of them are alike in that they both taste a little like garlic and a little like scallions. the bulbs of ramps or wild leeks, look like garlic bulbs, while green garlic, which is young garlic before it forms mature bulbs, looks a lot like scallions. oh nature…such a sense of humour.
aside from its mixed flavour, green garlic is known for being fairly mild in flavour. so you can enjoy a lot of it without having to mellow it out with a lot of cooking. like tossing it into scrambled eggs. eggs make such a great medium for flavours, like when you fold sauteed vegetables into an omelette or bake them in a quiche. eggs as light in texture as scrambled eggs incorporate fine herbs really well, or in this case, finely chopped green garlic. the ricotta makes these scrambled eggs extra light but also extra rich at the same time. however, if you don’t have ricotta, the ricotta could be omitted altogether. the recipe would turn out fine. but you would be sad wouldn’t you? i know. me too.
only a handful of ingredients and minutes are needed, and you’re on your way to enjoying the flavour of green garlic and creamy, savoury scrambled eggs. nice on the weekends with an english muffin, some trashy tater tots and bulldog sauce from the bottle. the eggs may be a little refined but we don’t have to be.
green garlic and ricotta scrambled eggs
4 eggs
1/4 cup, thinly sliced green garlic (about 4 shoots, roots, any loose outer skin and tougher green tops discarded)
2 tbs ricotta
1 tbs cream or milk
1 tbs butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
break eggs into a bowl, break yolks with a fork and whisk slightly to mix. add green garlic, cream, salt and pepper and mix. heat a small pan over medium heat. when the pan is hot, add the butter and coat the bottom with it. add the eggs to the pan, and then add the ricotta in dollops. using a wooden spoon (i don’t know why, it always works best for me) stir gently but continuously, mixing the ricotta into the eggs. watch the mixture closely and if it looks like it’s starting to dry out or cook too quickly, lower the heat slightly. remove from heat when the mixture is still slightly loose, since the eggs will still cook for another 30 seconds or so from the heat. serve hot with your favourite breakfast sides, or for lunch with a salad.
serves 2.
