Remember all those ramps that I got?
Well, even after making that delicious ramp pesto, I still had tons of ramp leaves yet. What to do…what to do…
Why not make a compound butter?
This is soooooo easy. This is all you need:
- Ramps
- Butter
- Lemon zest
- Salt
- Pepper
- Dried thyme
Bring the butter to room temperature and then fold in the remaining ingredients to your taste. Try to get the cleaned ramps as dry as possible because as you fold, they will release liquid. 
Place a blob of the butter in parchment or wax paper. Roll into “sticks” (they’re more like logs). Twist the ends of the paper. And freeze!
A little goes a long way since it’s so concentrated. But I’m looking forward to using in a roux for a punchy white sauce (think fettuccine alfredo) and brushing it on chicken or fish and bake/broil. So far I have just used it on a side of pasta (I didn’t want to go full-on pesto), but it was good!
I think it’ll last long, too. Just cut off what you need from a stick and wrap it up and put it back in the freezer. It’ll last until the ramps come back again next year!
And her’s an idea–at the end of the summer, if you have lots of leftover herbs from your garden, this is an excellent way to savor fresh herb flavor all-year round. Waste not want not, kittens!
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