One of the many pleasures of growing your own garlic (see here for a how-to on growing garlic) is the arrival of garlic scapes. These are the little curlicue sprouts that shoot, almost overnight, from the tops of hardneck garlic plants. They arrive all at once and have to be cut off, so that the plant’s energy is directed toward growing a fuller bulb (the underground part, which is harvested in mid-summer).
Garlic scapes have a slightly different flavor profile than garlic cloves: more peppery, less pungent. Since I cut a bunch of them last week, I’ve been sautéing garlic scapes in butter or olive oil, much as I would regular garlic. Rob stirred about 1/2 cup of sliced garlic scapes into a batch of risotto with fresh zucchini. I added them to a simple pasta dish of orecchiette with Swiss chard, a couple tablespoons of butter and heaps of Parmesan cheese. We tossed some in a marinade for grilled chicken. Next week, I plan to make a batch of my friend Soup Addict’s homemade ricotta cheese and stir in some minced fresh herbs and garlic scapes. Dorie Greenspan turns them into garlic scape pesto.
Like everything wonderful, garlic scapes are a fleeting, seasonal pleasure. If you can find a bagful at your farmers’ market, by all means bring some home.
Do you cook with garlic scapes? Please share your recipes and ideas here!