Sasha's Kitchen: Bucatini with Ramps and Fiddlehead Ferns

I will share my much awaited recipe for beef sauerbraten with sweet and sour cabbage and pretzel dumplings tomorrow - just don't have time to write it up today, as we are headed off to spend the day with family. But, in the meantime, I wanted to share a fantastic spring pasta dish that uses the fabulous, hollow tubular bucatini, and one of my favorite spring vegetables - ramps, or wild leeks. Nothing could be better than that little bit of garden fresh onion green with your bucatini, trust me. My mom also has been talking up fiddlehead ferns, another delicious green vegetable that you can only get this time of year, so I threw those in as well. The first time I tried making them, I seasoned them badly and they looked like fried insects, but not this time - everything was sautéed in butter and olive oil, with some panko breadcrumbs for a delicious, garden fresh, spring dinner!

Sasha's Spring Garden Pasta with Ramps and Fiddlehead Ferns
1 12oz package of bucatini
1 large bunch of ramps, finely chopped, bulbs removed
4 oz fiddlehead ferns
3 T butter
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup panko breadcrumbs

First, sauté the ramps and fiddlehead ferns in the butter in a large saute pan. Saute the fiddlehead ferns first, for about 3-4 minutes, then add the ramps and saute another five minutes, until the ramps are well cooked and wilted and the fiddlehead ferns are soft. When adding the ramps, add a half teaspoon (less or more to taste) of red pepper flakes.

In the meantime, prepare the bucatini in a pot of salted boiling water. Toast the breadcrumbs on a frying/saute pan for a few minutes until lightly browned.  When the pasta is cooked, add it to the pan with the butter/ramps/fiddlehead ferns. Add a tablespoon or two of the leftover pasta water (a trick I learned from watching the Food Network), and two to three tablespoons of olive oil, and sauté the pasta for a minute or so, until everything is evenly mixed. Mix in the toasted panko and serve.