Wild Ramp Rice Recipe
Fluffy, perfectly cooked rice spiked with the flavor of wild Ramps, My Ramp Rice Recipe is the perfect spring side dish. Can be made with only ramp leaves or ramp leaves & bulbs. Stove Top and Instant Pot directions included.
What are Ramps?
Ramps are a wild spring edible that’s in the allium family. Growing and tasting similar to a wild leek or wild onion, only with a more bold flavor.
They grow abundantly in many areas of Appalachia and have become a highly sought after gourmet ingredient.
What is Ramp Rice?
Simply enough, ramp rice is rice cooked with ramps. Ramps are notorious for a pungent raw flavor but with cooking they become mild and delicious.
How to Make Ramp Rice
I’m including both stove top and instant pot (pressure cooker) directions with this spring ramp recipe. The only ingredient difference for each version is the quantity of water.
To make wild ramp rice you only need a few ingredients:
- Ramps – This recipe includes both finely chopped ramp bulbs and ramp leaves. However if where you are foraging or purchasing from, wild ramps are scarce with only leaves available feel free to use leeks, onions, scallions or shallots in place of the ramp bulbs.
- Butter – Butter is suggested for this ramp recipe, however you can use any other fat that you prefer. I suggest ghee, avocado oil or coconut oil as alternatives.
- Salt – Adequate seasoning is key to any recipe, choose a high quality sea salt for best results.
- Rice – I have made this recipe with white, jasmine and basmati rice. Feel free to use whichever of those varieties that you prefer. This recipe as written will NOT work with brown rice.
If you are not sure of which type of rice you’d prefer to use read this What’s the difference between Jasmine and Basmati Rice or this
How to Make Ramp Rice on the Stove Top
After many years of making rice in my instant pot, I have to admit that I feel that stove top is much easier so the main focus of this post is dedicated to stove top directions.
To get started it’s always best to throughly rinse your rice with cold water and if desired, especially with basmati, allow your rice to soak for 15 minutes if using white or jasmine rice, 30 if using basmati rice.
Soaking rice prior to cooking it helps to remove some of the starch and defiantly makes a big difference in taste, texture and cooking time. The Science of Cooking Rice is a great resource I suggest checking out
While your rice is soaking, over medium heat saute chopped ramp bulbs for 2-3 minutes or until soft. Again, you can use onion, leek or shallots if you don’t have access to ramp bulbs.
Add 2 cups of water and salt to your pan then bring to a boil over high heat. Strain your rice, add it to the boiling water. Keep the heat on high and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, in MOST cases your rice will be 90% cooked and most of the water absorbed. It’s best to taste your rice to make sure it’s almost done. If it’s still very hard and there’s an excess of water left, cook for up to another 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, add your ramp greens. I like to leave them in thinly julienned ribbons but feel free to chop more finely if desired.
While I suggest 1/2 a cup of ramp greens for this spring rice recipe, feel free to use more to less depending on what you have on hand. This ramp recipe is very flexible.
Return the cover to the pot after mixing and let the ramp rice rest for a few minutes, the residual heat will wilt the ramp leaves and cook the rice a little bit more.
How to make Ramp Rice in an Instant Pot
To make this wild leek rice in a pressure cooker or instant pot, cook the chopped ramps in butter using the saute function for 2-3 minutes until soft.
Add water, rice and salt. Cook under high or normal pressure, I suggest consulting your instruction manual to verify the time that is suggested. Many instant pots have a pre-configured rice function.
Generally speaking, I suggest 5 minutes under pressure with a quick depressurization. Stir in ramp greens and enjoy!
The Ramp Rice is a delicious side dish for a wide variety of proteins; I suggest serving it with my easiest whole roasted chicken, sous vide lamb chops, or grilled pork shoulder steaks.
For a special spring treat, ramp rice is amazing as a side to my Chicken Thighs with Morel Cream sauce!
What meal are you making to serve with this Ramp Rice? Comment to share your delicious ideas with other readers!
If you like this Wild Ramp Rice Recipe Here are more related Spring Ramp Recipes you might enjoy:
- Creamed Ramp Greens Recipe
- Sausage Tortellini Soup with Ramp Greens
- Ramp Crackers with Creme Fraiche
- Gluten Free Wild Ramp Fritters
Ramp Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Butter (or ghee) or coconut oil
- 1/4 cup ramp bulbs finely chopped
- 1/2 cup ramp greens finely chopped
- 1 cup Jasmine Rice
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
For Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
- 1 1/3 cups Water, filtered
For Stove Top
- 2 cups Water, filtered
Instructions
- Rinse rice throughly, soak for 15- 30 mintues in cool water, drain.
For Stove Top
- Over medium heat, saute ramp bulbs in butter for 2-3 minutes or until soft.
- Add water and salt, bring to a boil over high heat.
- Add soaked, rinsed and drained rice. Return to a boil.
- Cover and reduce heat to low. Soaked rice will only need roughly 10 mintues to cook
- Turn off heat, remove lid and fold in chopped ramp leaves. Cover and let rest for 5 mintues prior to serving.
For Instant Pot
- Using the saute funcion, cook ramp bulbs in butter for 2-3 minutes or until soft.
- Add water, salt and soaked, rinsed and drained rice.
- Secure lid and cook under high or normal pressure for 5 mintues.
- Quick depressuize, remove lid. Fold in ramp greens.
- Replace lid and let your rice rest for 3-5 mintues to wilt the greens before serving.
Hi Hayley,
I am so happy to see that you too use a GoWise Pressure Cooker too! I made your wild ramp rice this past weekend, and I can not believe I was able to make it look like your photo- a true masterpiece! I’m a little new to pressure cooking, and still trying to get the hang of it. One recipe I can’t seem to get right is Yogurt. I tried making it in the jars and in the pot, and the flavor just doesn’t seem right. Would you be able to do a yogurt recipe in the?
I’ll add it to my list – the flavor will be determined by the milk and the yogurt cultures your using – what are you using?
I thought that when you gathered ramps that you were supposed to leave the roots in the ground so they would regrow.
Thanks,
Rick
There are areas were greedy-overharesting of foraged foods is an issue. That is one theory of harvesting that MAY help the ramp population in an over harvested area. Where we live, Ramps are a native plant and is considered an invasive species (Sw Pa & WV) Ramps have had a long life of popularity and aren’t a new fad – yet there are literally ramps everywhere.
it looks great and I feel like such a newb for asking this but what are Ramps? I have never heard of them.