PURPLE PIG ON WGN-TV

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Written By The Purple Pig

We are thrilled to share that The Purple Pig was featured on WGN-TV’s Midday News Lunchbreak segment on April 21, 2026! Chef/Owner Tony Mantuano and Culinary Director Brian Motyka joined the show to celebrate the flavors of spring with one of our favorite seasonal dishes: Spaghetti with Ramps, Chile, and Parmigiano Reggiano — made with our very own Purple Pig Artisan Bronze Cut Spaghetti.

Ramps are one of spring’s most fleeting and beloved ingredients, and this dish is the perfect way to let them shine. The combination of garlicky ramp greens, a touch of chili heat, bright lemon, and a rich butter-finished sauce tossed with perfectly al dente spaghetti is everything we love about this time of year.

Want to recreate it at home? Here’s the recipe:

Purple Pig Spaghetti with Ramps, Chile, and Parmigiano Reggiano

Ingredients:

  • ½ box Purple Pig Artisan Bronze Cut Spaghetti (8 oz)

  • ⅓ cup olive oil

  • 1 bunch ramps, roots cut off, cleaned, bottoms cut into coins and leaves cut into pieces

  • ¼ tsp chili flakes

  • ½ cup white wine

  • ½ cup pasta water, plus more reserved

  • ¼ cup Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

  • ½ lemon, juice and zest

  • ½ stick butter

  • ½ tsp fresh cracked black pepper

  • Kosher salt

  • Parmigiano Reggiano, for garnish

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season generously with salt until it tastes like the sea. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Meanwhile, in a sauté pan, sweat the ramp bottoms in olive oil until translucent. Add the chili flakes and cook until fragrant, then add the ramp tops to wilt. Deglaze with white wine and reduce until almost dry. Add the pasta water and cooked pasta to the pan and toss to marry everything into a sauce. Finish with parsley, lemon juice, and butter, adding more pasta water as needed until the sauce is emulsified and coats the back of a spoon. Plate in a bowl and garnish with lemon zest, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and fresh cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.

You can find our Artisan Bronze Cut Spaghetti and other pantry essentials in our online shop and at both Purple Pig locations — Purple Pig Oak Brook at 15 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, IL 60523, and Purple Pig Mag Mile at 444 North Michigan Avenue, Upper Level, Chicago, IL 60611.

Watch the full WGN-TV Lunchbreak segment at wgntv.com. Thank you to WGN-TV and Kristina Miller for having us — we had a wonderful time bringing a little taste of The Purple Pig to Chicago’s midday!

The Purple Pig