RSS
Home
Recipe advice: garlic scapes
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.JPG)
Crazy scapes. Photo by Kit Pollard.
Overheard at the Farmer's Market:
What are garlic scapes? They look cool, but what do I do with them?
-- Another One Straw Farm CSA-er
Dear OSFCSA-er,
I'm glad you asked, and not only because I enjoyed eavesdropping as Joan from One Straw Farm explained that garlic scapes are the stalk of the garlic plant and that they have a milder garlic taste than the bulb itself, with a little bite, similar to that of an onion.
Joan recommended making a pesto with arugula (also in season) and scapes. Sounds both delicious and simple. Maybe too simple for me. I gathered up my scapes and brought them home, intent on finding some additional recommendations.
Scapes are only in season (around here) during the late spring, and even then, the season is short. They're not widely available in traditional supermarkets, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by the lack of recipes available online. I was, though. I found one blogger who says she chops her scapes and sautes them, serving them just like green beans, which is a great idea. They'd add a little bite to any regular meal.
I ended up slightly modifying this recipe for mushroom and scape risotto (I used arborio rice instead of orzo, a LOT more liquid - I was stirring for the better part of an hour - and more than twice as many mushrooms and scapes, just to boost the hearty factor). It was labor intensive, as risotto is, but the creamy, earthy result was well worth the trouble.
Related Articles:
Comments
