Final NYC Post: RAMPS!

I have long loved ramps, before they were the new arugula. Being in Hawaii is something that has prevented me from cooking and eating ramps, along with another of my favorite wild spring treats, morels. I have not found any  morels here in New York, but last week suddenly ramps appeared at Union Square Green Market and even Whole Foods. I greedily cooked them twice and this post is a result of the last meal I made with them:

Duck breasts sauteed then finished off in the oven served with a reduction  of pomegranate juice (syrup consistency) on a bed of wild baby arugula tossed with olive oil and lemon, Russian fingerling potatoes halved and blanched then sauteed in the remaining duck fat, grilled asparagus and ramps and grilled pineapple slices for dessert.
Please go here:  Spring Dinner With Ramps  for the full post on my other blog. Meanwhile, enjoy these pictures!

Smoked Duck Tortilla Soup

I smoked a duck and made duck tacos last week. And then what? I made duck stock and reserved the remaining meat for soup. I made a big pot of Smoked Duck Tortilla Soup a few nights ago. You can find whole ducks in the freezer section of most grocery stores. Here in Hawaii, they are a rare "find" and when someone in our group finds them we buy enough for everyone because they go fast.

Here is the recipe:
The Stock
1 duck carcas
2 heads of garlic cut in half
2 carrots quartered
2 stalks of celery
1 Large onion quartered
2 Bay Leaves or cinnamon leaves if you can get them
6 dried ancho chiles (can sub Dried New Mexico or California red chiles)stemmed and seeded.

Place all in a stock pot, simmer on low for 10 hours, do not allow to boil. Then strain with cheese cloth. Chill stock and remove fat (save 3 Tablespoons for soup). Reserve meat and garlic (remove from bulb) for soup. Remove the chiles and place in a blender with 1 cup of stock and puree, then set aside.  This should make about 6 quarts of stock.

The Soup

4 quarts of duck stock

Reserved duck meat (note if you did not have much meat left, you can sauté a breast and chop it up)

3 tablespoons reserved duck fat

2 sweet onions  or 4 chopped

3 ribs of celery (including tops) chopped

2 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly

1 bunch of kale or chard chopped roughly

Reserved chile puree

Reserved meat

Reserved garlic

1 package of fire roasted frozen corn or fresh corn off the cob

In a large soup pot sauté the onions in the duck fat. When they are beginning to sweat, add celery, garlic and carrots and sauté another couple of minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste and season with salt, pepper and red crushed pepper. It should be slightly spicy, but not extremely so.

The Garnishes

4 tortillas sliced thinly and fried till crispy

1/2 cup green onions (scallions)

1 medium avocado diced Finely shredded cheddar or jack cheese

Chopped cilantro

Crema (Mexican Sour Cream)

To serve fill a bowl with the tortilla strips and avocado chunks. Ladle the hot soup over the strips and then top

with cheese, green onions, cilantro and drizzle crema lightly over the top.