Ramp Sunflower Seed Potato Salad

by Lora Wiley-Lennartz
Ramp Sunflower Seed Potato Salad

Ramps or bärlauch, as they are called in German are seasonal vegetables and are mostly found in the wild. Ramps have large leaves and an edible white bulb.

Ramps have a strong garlicky flavor. Foraging for them falls in Spring and it’s quite a short season. If you find your local farmer’s market is no longer selling them, try a natural food store or upscale supermarket.
This seasonal potato salad features paring yellow potatoes with a spicy garlicky ramp sauce. The addition of sunflower seeds adds a bit of crunch and mellows out the overall flavor of this spicy side dish.
If you want to rock your summer barbecue menu, keep ramp flavor and this potato salad recipe into the summer months by making and freezing the ramp vinaigrette recipe below. You would have to forgo the fresh ramp garnish for the salad but you can easily compensate with an extra sprinkle of raw sunflower seeds.

Ramp Sunflower Seed Potato Salad


Course Side Dish
Cuisine German
Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 4
Author Lora Wiley-Lennartz

Ingredients

  • 1+1/2 lbs sized yellow potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 pinches white granulated sugar, divided
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth
  • 8 stalks of ramps
  • 5 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 10 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup plus one tablespoon raw sunflower seeds

Instructions

  1. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with water and add a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of white granulated sugar.
  2. Bring the potatoes to a boil and let cook until they are soft, but still firm. They should not be mushy but you should be able to easily run a fork through them, about 20 minutes.
  3. Drain the potatoes and peel them while they are still warm. Cut each potato into slices and place in a large bowl.
  4. Heat up the vegetable broth and pour the broth over the potatoes. Let the potato slices stand in the broth for 30 minutes.

  5. Wash and pat dry the ramps. Trim the bulbs off of the ends and cut away any excess stalks from the bottom. Trim the ends off of the bulbs.
  6. Slice one or two of the bulbs into rings and set aside. Cut the leaves into thick strips and chop the rest of the bulbs. Reserve about two tablespoons of the ramp leaf strips for garnish. Set aside.
  7. Add the ramp leaf strips and chopped bulbs to a food processor along with the white balsamic vinegar, sea salt, white pepper and pinch of white granulated sugar. Purée the mixture.
  8. Add the olive oil one tablespoon at a time until everything is combined into a smooth sauce. Taste and adjust the sugar/salt ratio to your liking.
  9. If there is too much excess liquid in the bowl with the vegetable broth marinated potatoes after soaking them, pour it off but reserve the liquid.
  10. Toss the vegetable broth soaked potatoes with the ramp, vinegar and oil sauce.
  11. Add more sea salt, white granulated sugar and/or white pepper to taste. Toss in the 1/3 cup of raw sunflower seeds.
  12. If the mixture is still too dry, or the potatoes are not completely covered, mix in some more vegetable broth, one tablespoon at a time until everything is coated.
  13. Cover the potato salad and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  14. Garnish with the reserved ramp leaf strips, bulb rings and the tablespoon of raw sunflower seeds before serving.

Ready for More Ramp Recipes? Try These:

Asparagus with Creamy Ramp Goat Cheese Sauce

 

Egg Noodles in Ramp Horseradish Cream

 

Ramp Salt

 

Ramp Cherry Tomato Tart with Parmesan Crust

 

Ramp Hazelnut Knödel

 

Ramp Potato Swirl Rolls

 

Whole Wheat Ramp Walnut Bread

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