Ramp Broth With Fresh Crabmeat

By ltrodrigu

Mr. Marchand uses wild garlic in this recipe. Ramps, available in North American farmers' markets at this time of year, are a close cousin. You can also purchase them online at Earthy Delights (earthy.com).

Ingredients

• 8 ounces ramp leaves (reserve bulbs for another use)
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves
• Salt
• Piment d'Espelette
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 thyme sprig
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 slices sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 7 ounces jumbo lump crabmeat, shell fragments removed
• Juice of half lemon, plus 1 lemon, seeds discarded and finely diced
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Handful of mixed dill, chervil, and tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
• Fleur de sel
• 12 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
• 1 spring onion, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise

Preparation

Step 1

To Make Broth:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add ramp leaves and boil 30 seconds, then add spinach and boil 10 seconds more. Drain in a strainer set over a bowl, reserving liquid, then transfer ramps to a bowl of ice water to halt cooking.

Drain greens and gently squeeze to extract liquid. Transfer to a blender and purée, adding about 1½ cups reserved cooking liquid, or enough to achieve a broth consistency. Season with salt and piment d'Espelette.

To Make Croutons:
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add thyme, garlic and bread and sauté until croutons are just golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

To Warm Broth:
Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Meanwhile, in another small saucepan, toss crabmeat with lemon juice. Add a drizzle of olive oil to crabmeat and heat gently. Add herbs and season with fleur de sel.

To Serve:
Pour broth into four bowls, add a spoonful of crabmeat to each and garnish with croutons, olives, diced lemon and onions.