Savory Spring Wild Greens Pie (Torta Pasqalina)

April 22, 2024 by Philip Buccellato in wild food

This traditional savory pie is called Torta Pasqualina in Italy and originates in Liguria. My version is filled with wild spring greens including stinging nettle and ramp leaves. The crust can be made with a puff pastry but originally it was made with a strudel-like dough called pasta matta (crazy dough). Legend goes it was originally made with 33 layers of dough to celebrate each year of Jesus' life, but 4 layers works just fine. The magic of it all is when you cut it open to reveal the eggs hidden inside. The whole is rather uncomplicated and makes for a visually stunning and delicious spring lunch. Video of the whole process is below.

The Dough

Ingredients:

300 g all purpose flour

120 g water

5 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

*This is enough for 4 sheets of dough for an 8" baking pan. You'll need to increase the ratio if using a bigger pan.

Directions:

Mix together all of the dough ingredients in a bowl. At first it will be quite shaggy (similar to making pasta dough). Keep working for a few minutes and transfer to a clean working surface. Continue kneading with both hands until smooth and homogenous. It needs to rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling out but can be made up to a day ahead. Store in tupperware and wrap in plastic wrap tightly while resting. Keep in the refrigerator if not using right away.

The Filling:

Ingredients:

1-1.5 cups of blanched stinging nettles (completely squeezed of all excess water - this step is critical otherwise the end result is soggy)

4-6 whole ramp leaves

12-16 oz of whole milk ricotta

1/2 cup of grated pecorino romano

salt and pepper to taste

4 eggs

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1. Blanch stinging nettle for 30 seconds and transfer to an ice bath. Remove from the cold water and squeeze all of the excess water out from the leaves. The liquid that is extracted is an amazing green color and filled with nutrients.

2. Chop the ramp leaves and saute in olive oil in a pan on low heat for 20 seconds before adding in the stinging nettle. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

3. Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside 3 of the 4 eggs.

4. Cover and refrigerate if not using right away.

The Pie:

Directions:

1. Cut your dough into 4 equal sections. Set your oven for 350F.

2. Prepare a clean work surface and gather your tools (rolling pin, pastry brush, large cutting board).

3. Coat each piece of dough with more olive oil.

4. Using your fingertips, begin pressing one piece of the dough to begin the stretching process. You'll alternate using your hands to gently stretch and the rolling pin until you have a nice uniform sheet of dough that is approximately 10-12" in diameter.

5. Lubricate the bottom of your 8" baking pan (I use a cast iron skillet) with more olive oil. Don't be shy with it.

6. Gently lay in the first sheet of dough into the pan, using your fingers to press out any air bubbles and to wrap the dough around the top lip of the pan. It doesn't need to be perfect as you'll finess as you go. Brush with olive oil.

7. Roll out the second sheet of dough and lay in on top of the first sheet, again pressing out any air bubbles.

8. Spoon in the filling and spread evenly to fill the entire pan. Use a spoon to create 3 wells where the remaining eggs will go.

9. Carefully crack the 3 eggs into the indentions you just made.

10. Roll out the third layer of dough and carefully drape it on top of the filling and let the edges hang down over the pan. Brush with olive oil.

11. Roll out the final sheet of dough and lay it on top.

12. Use your fingers to carefully roll the edges of the dough upwards, and inwards, to create a sealed edge around the top circumference of the pie. The bottom layers should be stretched and rolled up and around the top layers. Brush with more olive oil and use a knife to create a small hole to steam in the center of the pie.

13. Bake in the oven at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned.

14. Allow to cool, slice, and enjoy.

Pan Fried Stinging Nettle Gnocchi with Ramp Leaf Cream

May 03, 2022 by Philip Buccellato in wild food, pasta

There's an indescribable joy of witnessing the arrival of the spring ephemerals - crawling around in hidden corners, being velcroed to pricker bushes, and returning to the kitchen to scheme up something new. This one is really quite simple - delivering spring in all its fleeting glory. I hope you enjoy the video below as much as I enjoyed making it.

Ramps are one of those foods hotly debated in wild food circles. When purchasing, it's always good to be mindful of how they are being harvested as it's a slow growing plant that has been overharvested from its native ranges. Consider only harvesting the leaf, leaving the bulb intact - allowing the colonies to continue to grow back.

Ramp Leaf Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1 pint heavy cream

1 bunch of fresh ramp leaves (approx 8 leaves)

1/2 cup grated pecorino romano

3 tbsp butter

salt to taste

Directions

1. In a food processor, blitz together the ramp leaves and half of the heavy cream.

2. Transfer to a sauce pan and bring to medium heat.

3. When it comes to a simmer, add in the rest of the cream and bring back to a rolling simmer for about 5 minutes.

4. Add in the grated pecorino and butter and stir together.

5. Simmer on low for another 15 minutes, constantly stirring, as the sauce begins to thicken.

6. Remove from the heat and press through a fine mesh sieve. The resulting sauce is super silky, creamy, and delicious.

7. Keep on low heat until ready to serve.

Stinging Nettle Gnocchi

Ingredients
2 lbs russet potatoes

2 cups of flour (plus more for dusting)

5 oz stinging nettles (blanched, de-stemmed, blitz)

2 eggs (beaten)salt to taste

*makes about 6 portions

Directions
1. The nettles need to be handled carefully to avoid experiencing their stinging effect. Use tongs to transfer the nettles to a big pot of boiling water. Blanch for 45 seconds and immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water. After cool, you can now handle them. Remove any larger stems and run through a food processor until they form a crumbly paste.

2. Wrap the potatoes in foil and bake at 400F for about 1 hour or until fork tender. After they've cooled for about 5 minutes, but while they are still warm/hot, peel off the skins.

3. Using a potato ricer, press each potato out into a large bowl.

4. Add in all the remaining ingredients and use your hands to work everything together so that the nettles are evenly incorporated throughout. If the dough is feeling a bit sticky you can gradually add a little more flour until it isn't so sticky. Overworking the dough can result in gummy gnocchi. Kneading shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

5. Dump the dough onto a well floured work surface and cover with a towel.

6. Rip off a handful of dough and begin rolling the ball out with your hands to create a long rope of rough about ¾ inch thick. Use more flour if it feels like the dough is sticky. Don’t overwork!

7. Using a knife or bench knife, cut each rope into approximately 1 inch pieces.

8. You could stop here, and transfer them to a tray dusted with semolina to prevent sticking.

9. Or you can continue with embellishing them a bit by using the tines of a fork to create the classic dimples and grooves you might often see. Carefully take each individual piece in your fingers, and with your other hand press the tip of your fork into the center of the gnocchi, and roll it gently to form the grooves. Now you can set it into your tray with semolina until ready to cook. If not cooking until much later they should be frozen immediately after making them.

10. Bring a big pot of water to boil. Cook the gnocchi for about 4 minutes until they float to the surface. Drain the gnocchi.

11. In a heavy skillet, melt butter and bring up to medium/high heat.

12. Transfer the boiled gnocchi into the hot pan and allow to crisp for about 3 minutes on each side. They’ll start to turn golden brown and form a nice texture on the shell, while the interior stays light and fluffy.

13. Transfer each portion of gnocchi to a bowl and drizzle on the cream sauce and finish with some black pepper and freshly grated parmesan.

Wild Spring Quiche with Morels and Ramps

May 10, 2021 by Philip Buccellato in wild food

This quiche has been on my mind for a while and the stars finally aligned - morels (sautéed in duck fat), ramps, fontina, and some sweet/mild Chimayo chili flakes that I just brought back from New Mexico, all cradled in a flaky pie crust. It was better than I even expected and works as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Video of the whole process below.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Ingredients

6 eggs

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup finely diced fontina cheese

1/2 cup fresh ramp leaves (sliced into strips)

1 cup fresh morels (or other mushroom of choice) thinly sliced

1 tbsp dry chili flakes (I’m using a mild Chimayo chili for this but modify according to how spicy you like)

Duck fat (or butter)

Directions

Set the oven to 375F.
Chop/dice your fresh mushrooms and ramp leaves.
Bring a medium sized pan to medium heat.
Drop in about two tablespoons of duck fat or butter.
Saute the morels for about 5 minutes.
Add the dried chili flakes and continue to simmer on medium/low for a few more minutes.
Add the ramp slivers and turn the heat off. It will smell fragrant and amazing. Allow to come to room temperature.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and heavy cream.
Add the finely diced fontina (grated works here too) into the egg mixture.
Add the mushroom & ramps mixture and mix well. The oil from the chili flakes will mix with the eggs and make a wonderful orange color.
Season with salt and pepper.
Pour the egg mixture into your prepared/parbaked pie crust. (see below for more details about how I made it, but feel free to use whatever pie dough recipe you prefer. The recipe I am using requires you to pre-bake the crust for 20 minutes before you add the filling.)
Bake at 375F for about 40 minutes until the eggs are set and the crust is a golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about ten minutes before eating.
Enjoy.

The Pie Crust

I’m using a Smitten Kitchen recipe for my pie dough which uses the following ingredients.

Ingredients

8 tbsp butter

1 cup of all purpose flour

1/3 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup cold water

1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

I followed her recipe and was very satisfied with the results - a recipe with very similar proportions as many other pie dough recipes you’ll find online.

Stinging Nettle & Ramp Leaf Oil Pizza

May 09, 2021 by Philip Buccellato in pizza, wild food

Always a thrill stumbling into new areas- creeks lush with watercress and nettles and unfamiliar hillsides with healthy populations of ramps. It was still a little early for morels but I came home with plenty. We fired up a bunch of pizzas but I was most excited about this nettle, ramp leaf oil, sausage, and lemon zest pie. It was a good day. Video of the process below.

Ingredients:

Fresh stinging nettle tips (handle with care)

Fresh ramps (leaves only) *please leave bulbs in the ground

Shredded mozzarella

Crumbled sausage (sauteed in advance)

Lemon (to zest)

Good olive oil

Pecorino Romano

Pizza dough

The Nettles

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Prepare a large ice bath in a bowl.
Using tongs, drop your stinging nettle into a pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Blanching will immediately nullify the stinging power of the nettle and you’ll then be able to handle it without concern.
Transfers the blanched nettle to the ice bath to shock them.
Drain, and squeeze out as much water as you can. Allow to air dry to remove even more water.
Drizzle with olive oil and set aside.

The Ramp Oil

Clean your ramp leaves in a cold bowl of water to remove any bits of dirt.
Trim the stems off completely leaving only the leaves behind.
Lay in the ramp leaves into your food processor (or blender) and add in good quality olive oil. You’ll have to use your best judgement on the amount depending on how many ramps you’re using. The consistency should be thinner than pesto.
Add a little dash of salt, and blitz for about a minute.
Transfer the puree into a fine mesh sieve and use a rubber spatula to press the oil down into a bowl. What’s left behind is a fragrant mash of ramp leaves with some traces of oil. This can be saved / frozen / and incorporated into countless other dishes. For now, you’re focusing on just the extracted oil that comes out of the sieve.
Transfer the oil into a container, ideally a squeeze bottle with cap. It’s ready to go. Store in the refrigerator.

The Dough

For the pizza dough I have been very happy using a Ken Forkish recipe from Flour Water Salt Yeast for an overnight dough (67% hydration) with levain. It’s one of the few recipes that I have decided not to mess with as it always yields great results.

The Assembly & Finishing

Stretch your dough and drizzle first with a little bit of olive oil.
Layer on your shredded mozzarella cheese.
Now evenly distribute the blanched nettles (in olive oil).
Spread out the cooked sausage crumble evenly.
Grate fresh Pecorino Romano over the top of the pie.
Bake your pizza. I use a wood fired Ooni Pro but use whatever works for you.
Drizzle on a generous amount of ramp oil.
Add fresh lemon zest.
Enjoy!

Spring Morel + Ramp Oil Pizza

May 06, 2020 by Philip Buccellato in mushrooms, wild food, pizza, sourdough

This is one of those pizzas that only happens once a year. It is spring at its best in pizza form. And after several years unsuccessfully searching for morels I finally had an opportunity to do what I've been thinking about for a very long time. Sauteed morels, ricotta and mozzarella cheese, ramp oil, wild violet flowers, fresh mint, and a little drizzle of honey on a sourdough crust wood fired in my Ooni Pro. Video of the whole process is embedded below.

Ingredients:

Fresh morels (sauteed in olive oil)

Fresh ricotta cheese

Shredded mozzarella

Ramp Oil (see instructions below)

Fresh mint

Wild Violet Flowers

Honey

Instructions:

The Morels

The real heart of this pizza are the morel mushrooms. For this recipe I chose only the ones in most perfect condition and sliced them in half lengthwise.
Saute the morels in olive oil on medium low heat until they begin to brown. This will take about ten minutes to soften them up. It’s important to cook morels thoroughly.

The Ramp Oil

Clean your ramp leaves in a cold bowl of water to remove any bits of dirt.
Trim the stems off completely leaving only the leaves behind.
Lay in the ramp leaves into your food processor (or blender) and add in good quality olive oil. You’ll have to use your best judgement on the amount depending on how many ramps you’re using. The consistency should be thinner than pesto.
Add a little dash of salt, and blitz for about a minute.
Transfer the puree into a fine mesh sieve and use a rubber spatula to press the oil down into a bowl. What’s left behind is a fragrant mash of ramp leaves with some traces of oil. This can be saved / frozen / and incorporated into countless other dishes. For now, you’re focusing on just the extracted oil that comes out of the sieve.
Transfer the oil into a container, ideally a squeeze bottle with cap. It’s ready to go. Store in the refrigerator.

The Dough

For the pizza dough I have been very happy using a Ken Forkish recipe from Flour Water Salt Yeast for an overnight dough with levain. It’s one of the few recipes that I have decided not to mess with as it always yields great results.

The Assembly & Finishing

Stretch your dough and drizzle first with a little bit of olive oil.
Layer on your shredded mozzarella cheese.
Now evenly distribute the sauteed morels.
Using a spoon, dollop on the fresh ricotta evenly across the pie.
Bake your pizza. I use a wood fired Ooni Pro but use whatever works for you.
Drizzle on a generous amount of ramp oil.
Drizzle on a swirl of honey.
Top with fresh mint and wild violet flowers.
Enjoy!

Venison + Ramp Sausage with Creamy Polenta

April 26, 2020 by Philip Buccellato in wild food, wild game

We made it through another week. Tomorrow might be one of those days filled with dread and anxiety, but right now is filled with the simple comfort of a big plate of creamy polenta, venison + ramp sausage, and a fried farm egg. This dish transports me back to the table with my parents and grandparents and hits on all the nostalgic notes that you could ask for. Video of the process is below.

The Sausage

I use about 40% pork fat to mix with the ground venison in this recipe.

2.8 lbs freshly ground venison

1.1 lbs ground pork fat

10 grams dehydrated ramp powder (recipe can be found here)

Dried chili flakes to taste

15 grams salt

2 tsp fennel seeds

15 grams brown sugar

Natural hog casings

Instructions

Mix together, by hand, all of your filling ingredients in a large bowl.
Carefully slide the sausage casing up onto the stuffing tube. Insert whatever joke you want here. Leave the end untied to allow air to pass through. You’ll tie it off at the end.
On the slowest setting, carefully feed the sausage mixture down into the hopper. You’ll want to work slow and steady, and pause whenever you have any complications. The goal is to have a uniform filling all the way through the casing, without it being packed too tight where the casing will break apart or burst. If you’re attempting this recipe, you’ll likely have made your own sausages before.
When you’ve finished stuffing your sausage now it’s time to tie your links. I typically will make small batches, so I’ll tie each link individually, gently applying pressure with my fingers where I want there to be a break, and then twisting it around to create a nice clean break between links. There are much more elegant and efficient ways to do this and lots of great Youtube videos from professional butchers who can help visualize this process.
Heat up some olive oil in a skillet and brown the sausage on all sides. Transfer the sausage to a pot of simmering red sauce to continue cooking for another 20 minutes. My classic red sauce recipe can be found here.

Creamy Polenta

1 cup coarse cornmeal

1/2 stick Butter

1 cup cubed provolone cheese

1 cup whole milk

2 - 3 cups chicken stock

Salt

Instructions

Bring 1 cup of milk and 2 cups of stock to a simmer and add the cornmeal.
You’ll need to constantly stir the polenta to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add in the butter and cubed provolone and keep stirring until it melts. Add salt to taste.
If it starts to feel a little too thick, add some reserved stock to thin it out. Keep adding more stock to maintain the right creamy texture. In total it will take about 30 minutes start to finish.

Seasonal Spring Sea of Green Pie with Ramp Dust

April 06, 2020 by Philip Buccellato in wild food, pizza

I drew some inspiration from @danieleuditi at @pizzana with his use of dehydrated basil. This time of year in the northeast, ramps (allium tricoccum) are in their full glory. If you know where to look, you'll find vast hillsides of vibrant green ramps. I wanted to make a seasonal pie that pays tribute to this incredible woodland ingredient. I harvested just the tender leaves of the plant, leaving the bulbs in the ground, and made a dehydrated ramp dust that is central to this pie. The powder retains the most amazing deep green color so we decided to call it the Sea of Green. Fired in my @oonihq Pro. Video of the whole process below.

Just a reminder to harvest ramps responsibly. Don't yank the bulbs or harvest more than you need! It takes seven years for ramps to reach maturity from seed.

Once you have your fresh ramps, I like to trim the stems off so you’re only drying the green leafy section of the plant. The stems are great as a pickled condiment, which can get eaten as is or processed into salad dressing. Any of your favorite pickling recipes will be great for the stems.

Place the leaves in the dehydrator and it should take about 2 - 3 hours until the leaves are fully dry. When done, they should be brittle and break apart in your fingertips.

In a bowl, crush the leaves with your hands to break them down to a smaller size. You can use a mortar and pestle to break down further or just skip ahead and blitz everything in a spice grinder to create a fine powder. You’ll be left with an amazing green colored dust that you can store by itself or mix it 50/50 with salt to make ramp salt. The raw ramp dust is extremely versatile and can be used to spice meat, vegetables, fused into sauces, etc. I keep a jar of it in my spice cabinet and I store the rest in the freezer for future use. Like any spices, it will lose its potency over time.

For the pizza I have been very happy using a Ken Forkish recipe from Flour Water Salt Yeast for an overnight dough with levain. It’s one of the few recipes that I have decided not to mess with as it always yields great results.

The foundation of the pizza is a plain pie, with a parmesan laden red sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. The pie comes to life with a generous dusting of the ramp dust all over the top of the pie, followed by fresh basil leaves. It’s subtle and delicious.

Pan Fried Gnocchi with Ramp Pesto

April 01, 2020 by Philip Buccellato in pasta, wild food

It’s still a bit early in the season so most ramps are too young to harvest. With a little effort we found a more mature patch along a sunny south eastern facing ridge. We harvested just enough leaves for a small batch of pesto and left the bulbs in the ground. For the pesto I kept it super simple. Ramps, pistachios, olive oil, and salt blitz in the food processor and served on top of pan fried gnocchi (in lots of butter) and some freshly grated Parmesan and ground pepper. It’s a once a year kind of meal.

If harvesting ramps, don’t yank the bulbs, don’t raze entire hillsides, don’t take more than you need. They take seven years to reach maturity.

Video of the process below.

Gnocchi Ingredients

2½ pounds russet potatoes (about 4 large)

1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 egg

Butter

Instructions

Boil potatoes for 35 - 45 minutes until fork tender.
Drain and allow to cool so you can handle them but they need to still be warm for the next step. If allowed to cool they’ll become gummy.
Peel the potatoes with your fingers or by using the edge of a spoon. Cut up the potatoes into small chunks.
Press all of the warm potatoes through a potato ricer into a large bowl.
Sprinkle on the flour and salt, and work together with your hands for about 30 seconds. Make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in the egg, which should already be beaten.
Mix together with your hands for another 30 seconds.
Pour out the contents of the bowl onto a well dusted work surface and continue to knead together for another 1 - 2 minutes. An important note is to not overwork this dough. The more you work it, the denser the gnocchi will be.
Divide the dough into about 4 - 6 different balls and dust each with more flour.
Begin rolling each ball out with your hands to create a long rope of rough about ¾ inch thick. Use more flour if it feels like the dough is sticky. And again, don’t overwork!
Using a knife or bench knife, cut each rope into approximately 1 inch pieces.
You could stop here, and transfer them to a tray dusted with semolina to prevent sticking.
Or you can continue with embellishing them a bit by using the tines of a fork to create the classic dimples and grooves you might often see. Carefully take each individual piece in your fingers, and with your other hand press the tip of your fork into the center of the gnocchi, and roll it gently to form the grooves. Now you can set it into your tray with semolina until ready to cook.
Bring a big pot of water to boil. Cook the gnocchi for about 4 minutes until they float to the surface. Drain the gnocchi.
In a heavy skillet, melt butter and bring up to medium/high heat.
Transfer the boiled gnocchi into the hot pan and allow to crisp for about 3 minutes on each side. They’ll start to turn golden brown and form a nice texture on the shell, while the interior stays light and fluffy.
Now toss the pan fried gnocchi with the pesto. Plate each portion and top generously with freshly grated parmesan and black pepper.

Pesto Ingredients

¼ cup of pistachios

½ cup olive oil

Sprinkle of salt

Two handfuls of washed ramp leaves

Grated parmesan (optional)

Instructions

Shell the pistachios and blitz in the blender
Add all of the other ingredients and blend until smooth
Add more olive oil if pesto is too thick

Homemade Cavatelli with Wild Ramp Pesto

May 12, 2019 by Philip Buccellato in wild food, pasta

Ramp season is fleeting. Next year I plan on making a few extra batches of pesto to keep in the freezer to extend the season a little longer.

Ramp pesto is so simple and tasty. I puree the ramp leaves (stems removed and bulbs left in the ground) with good extra virgin olive oil, toasted pine nuts, salt, and pepper. If using right away I’ll finish it by incorporating a healthy amount of grated parmesan and a little melted butter to make it creamy. If freezing, I’ll leave out the cheese and butter and add this in fresh after it is defrosted. I garnished this plate with fresh chive blossoms and more toasted pine nuts. The pasta was a handmade semolina cavatelli which are deceptively easy to make. See video below for the whole process.

Pheasant Back Mushroom and Wild Ramp Risotto

May 03, 2019 by Philip Buccellato in wild food, mushrooms

It was another unsuccessful attempt to find morels but I ended up with a basket of young pheasant backs and ramps.

The risotto was cooked simply with chicken stock, sherry and a hunk of parmesan rind. The mushrooms were first sauteed with thyme and folded into the simmering risotto. Ramp pesto was incorporated at the end to keep it’s brightness and color. I reserved a few crispy slices of the mushrooms to add as a garnish on top along with more freshly grated parmesan. See video below.