Ramp Garlic Bread with Ramp Pesto

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

The flavor is incredible. I will never say no to garlic bread, but a lot of times it’s just garlic and that’s it. Ramps have this balance of garlic and onion taste that make this garlic bread, so much more interesting and exciting. I also have a ramp pesto pasta recipe.

This garlic bread has the perfect texture—crusty on the edges and soft in the middle. This isn’t garlic toast. You don’t want it to be crunchy all the way through. By using sliced bread that’s not too thick, you get just the right amount of bread to garlic to cheese.

You can freeze it. When you’re not cooking for a crowd, you may not have the need to make an entire batch of garlic bread. Don’t worry, you can freeze the slices you don’t eat, and warm them in the oven as needed.

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

• Bread: The quality of the bread is important. You want something artisanal with a nice crust. You can go with a plain country style loaf or try sourdough garlic bread for a little extra tang.
• Mozzarella: Slices of fresh mozzarella melt under the broiler and are so good on this cheesy garlic bread.
• Ramps: You will need one bunch, which will be about 8-10 ramps. After washing them, trim the root ends and separate the green leaves from the stems. Then roughly chop the stems.
• Walnuts: For flavor and cost, walnuts are a great choice for this pesto garlic bread spread. They are much less expensive than pine nuts.
• Parmesan: I use this Italian cheese in the pesto.
• Olive oil: For the best flavor, use high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
• Lemon juice is subtle, but it adds something acidic, which is really good with the richness of the melted mozzarella.
• Chives: To add more oniony flavor, I sprinkle the garlic bread with minced chives.
• Kosher salt & black pepper season the pesto.

How To Make Ramp Garlic Bread

Preheat the broiler on high. The oven rack should be about 4-6 inches from the heating element.

1. Combine the ramp stems & leaves, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor. Finely chop these ingredients.

2. Drizzle in the olive oil with the motor running until the pesto is pureed.

3. Place the bread on 2 sheet pans. Drizzle the slices with olive oil, spread with ramp pesto and top with mozzarella slices.

4. Toast the bread and melt the cheese under the broiler. Then spread on more pesto and finish with chopped chives.

Serving

The garlic bread is best served warm. Enjoy it as an appetizer or pair it with a spring dinner recipe like this gnocchi and smashed peas or this lemon asparagus pasta. I will also eat it for lunch with a simple arugula parmesan salad.

Recipe Tips

• Keep an eye on the bread when it is under the broiler. You might need to rotate the pan or move it around depending where the heating element is in your oven.
• If you can’t find ramps, you can substitute with store-bought or homemade basil pesto. Classic pesto garlic bread will turn out fantastic too.
• For people who love cheese, you can increase the amount of fresh mozzarella. If want your garlic bread really cheesy, then add more cheese to cover each slice of bread.