Author Notes
This is the end of the brown bag of foraged ramps and I am sad. How did this recipe come about, well, we had ramps and we had a hankering for Caribbean food. Years ago I lived in Brooklyn on Washington at St. Johns and it was my introduction to great African, Jamaican and Caribbean food. I will never forget the first time I had curried goat with peas and rice and some fried plantains. I crave this food at certain times and it just so happened today we had ramps. It really is a great combination. Fried sweet potatoes with lime and cilantro are also a really nice side too. —thirschfeld
Test Kitchen Notes
This is a nice chicken recipe, which I think could pretty easily be increased to feed a crowd. The chicken turned out very tender and nicely crisped by the broiling. The ramp flavor added a definite bite. It was hard to decide how much lime juice to use in the basting process, but I opted to go for a smaller amount -- just a sprinkling each time -- and use a lot of the chicken juices as well, which I’m glad I did. I served this to a group of friends for supper, and everyone said they liked it. The greens were most delicious just after wilting them, so I might skip the baking step next time. They were great for soaking up some of the chicken juices. - fiveandspice —The Editors
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Ingredients
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4
chicken thigh and leg qaurters
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10
ramp bottoms, white only greens reserved
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2
serrano chiles
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2 tablespoons
fresh lime juice, plus more for basting
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3
garlic, cloves
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1 teaspoon
allspice
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1 teaspoon
nutmeg
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1 1/2 teaspoons
dried thyme
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kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
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2 bunches
red kale, 1 1/2 lbs., rinsed and cut into ribbons
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resrved ramp tops
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2 ounces
smoked ham, small dice
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4 tablespoons
unsalted butter
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kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Directions
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Combine the ramps, chiles, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, garlic, allspice, nutmeg and thyme in a food processor and make it into a paste adding more lime juice if you need to.
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Season the chicken with salt and fresh ground pepper. Rub the paste all over the chicken and set the chicken on a tray and cover. Let marinate for 2 hours at least but 24 hours would be the ultimate.
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Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place a enameled Dutch oven over medium heat and ad the ham and butter. Once it starts to spit and sizzle add the ramp greens and season with salt and pepper. Add the kale and turn it with tongs until it starts to wilt. Cover it and slide it into the oven.
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Place the chicken on a sheet tray and slide it into the oven next to the kale. Set the timer for one hour. Baste the chicken with the extra lime juice about every 20 minutes.
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Remove the greens and the chicken. Turn the oven to broil. Once the broiler is heated slide the chicken in and broil until the tops are crispy and delicious, keep a close eye cause it will burn lickity split.
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Place the kale onto a large platter and arrange the chicken attractively on top. Pour any juices from the roasting pan across the top of the chicken and serve.
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