Garlic Ramp Pesto on Fettucine with #NWTW Viognier
The #NewWineThisWeek assignment was Viognier from France. I spent some quality time with a variety of Viogniers this winter, so I didn’t feel a strong pull to participate this week. Along came Saturday, and I just couldn’t resist. I stopped by a local wine shop and picked up a $9 Viognier from the southern Rhone. The shop is right across from the Coop, and I found some garlic ramps. Sunday dinner, here we come!
Domaine de Gournier Viognier 2012 ($9 locally)
eye: Clear, light yellow green
nose: Fresh floral, rich with a bit of bubble gum
mouth: Rich mouthfeel, low acidity but still lively.
What a treat! Full body, rich mouthfeel, this wine balanced the rich pasta nicely.
Textbook example of Viognier for $9!
Spring in Minnesota: Garlic Ramp Pesto on Fresh Homemade Fettucine
Ramps are a sure sign of spring, finally! They are perfect for pesto, as they provide both the greens and the garlicy flavor. Tonight we enjoyed fresh garlic ramp pesto on homemade fettucine, topped with shrimp and calamari. This rich pasta needs a white wine with solid body. Viognier has the stuffing to balance the food.
Shrimp & calamari with fresh garlic ramp pesto on homemade fettucine
Ramps!
Garlic ramps aren’t a cultivated crop and they’re a local delicacy where they grow. Ours only come for a few weeks in the spring. Ramps have a flavor between garlic, leeks, and onions. If you use them in pesto, you can use the greens in place of basil and the bottoms for the garlic. They are almost pesto all by themselves! You can see the ingredients below.
Garlic ramp pesto only requires a few ingredients
The resulting pesto has such a bright green color, you can almost taste how fresh it is.
Super bright, fresh green. Spring is here!
The pesto is a great spread for crackers or bruschetta.
Ramp pesto also makes an awesome garlicy spread.
If you’re going to serve the ramp pesto on pasta, take the time to make your own. All that freshness is worth the effort.
Fresh ramp pesto needs fresh homemade pasta
Top the pasta with some shrimp and calamari
Garlic Ramp Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 bunch (10-12) fresh garlic ramps, roughly chopped including the leaves
- 1/3 cup of your favorite oil, I used a local sunflower oil
- 1/4 cup nuts – I like almonds
- 1 oz freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until the pesto has the consistency you like. It’s nice to leave it with some nice texture – don’t go for 100% smooth.
- Great to spread on crackers or bruschetta. Or, use on pasta as you would traditional basil pesto.
- Enjoy!
Ramps are only around for a short time, don’t delay!
foodwineclick 
Thanks for sharing. Looks so delicious! I so miss Baerlauch in spring in Zurich. Can’t find them in the stores here.
I can’t wait to try this! Thank you!
It’s so fresh tasting, you’ll love it. Gotta move fast, though, before the ramps are gone until next year!
Wow, nice recipe, it looks really delicious,
I’m getting hungry right now 🙂
Looks amazing!
It tasted good too. We’ve been enjoying the leftover pesto as a spread for veggies and crackers. Wow, it is intense though!
Looks delicious! Any type of pesto is good in my book.
Thanks! I agree. We make traditional pesto but have also enjoyed beet green pesto and now ramps. Always fresh pasta with pesto!