Garlic Scapes I Have Known
Photo by MaryJanesFarm
You might as well have handed me a bag of writhing snakes—so alien and fraught with nervous concern was my first encounter with garlic scapes during a CSA1 pickup last year.
But once this lifelong city girl got over the foreignness … and, well, springiness … of it all—boy, were they tasty!
Scapes are the flower stalks you’ll find on members of the Allium family, which includes onions, leeks, chives, and, hardneck garlic. Garlic scapes twist and curl upwards, making supple arcs as they grow, but will straighten and stiffen with time, before growing little seed-like bulbs. Young and tender garlic tops still in full curl can be snapped off easily with your fingers, providing a mild garlic flavor and crunchiness, whether in salads, soups, or stir-fries. You can even puree scapes with some olive oil (adding lemon juice and Parmesan cheese for taste) for fresh homemade pesto.
More about garlic scapes (plus some recipes) at MaryJanesFarm.
1Community-Supported Agriculture. Locate a CSA in your area by entering your zip code at LocalHarvest.org
Beccagirl said,
June 18, 2007 at 5:58 pm
I love the raw green curves, beautiful photo!!