Garlic Scapes
Garlic Scapes at the Florence Farmers Market.
My daughter and I spotted these garlic scapes at the farmer’s market in Florence, MA last Wednesday. Curly and twisty and oh so fun to play with, she urged me to buy some. But honestly, other than using them as a funky accessory, I wasn’t sure what to do with them. Then later I received my July newsletter from Kitchen Gardeners International and to my delight they have a recipe for garlic scapes pesto! The recipe calls for garlic scapes, walnuts, olive oil and parmigiano cheese. How can you go wrong? I’ve since discovered that pesto is one of the most popular recipes for garlic scapes. I never knew!
In addition to a pesto recipe, I’ve also discovered the following recipes for garlic scapes that sound delicious:
- White Bean and Garlic Scapes Dip in the NY Times
- Garlic Scape Hummus at Barbolian
- Another Garlic Scape Pesto recipe over at What Geeks Eat, this one with pine nuts instead of walnuts.
And if wearing garlic scapes as an accessory, or using as the celebrated ingredient in tonight’s dinner isn’t enough to peek my interest, they look like they would be fun to add to contemporary floral arrangements, as shown over at Petalena.
FREEZING GARLIC SCAPES
Has anyone had any luck with freezing garlic scapes? Freezing garlic makes it bitter, but does the same happen to garlic scapes? Post a comment below and let us know.
Tags: Florence Farmer's Market, freezing garlic scapes, garlic scapes
July 23, 2008 at 1:45 pm |
Thank you for the pingback to my site! By some standards, I grow a lot of garlic – over 1300 bulbs and 27 varieties (in fact, we are harvesting right now) – but I have to say, the scapes are perhaps my favorite (although it’s hard to decide with so many options). They are so garlicky, yet so sweet & mild, and so very versatile – and also so under-appreciated! It is fun to give bouquets of them away – like spreading joy! Enjoy!
July 23, 2008 at 1:56 pm |
27 varieties?! How wonderful! I’d love to sample all the different varieties of garlic and the subtle (and not so subtle?) differences. I’m enjoying my discovery of garlic scapes and I’m looking forward to making your garlic scapes hummus. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks!
July 24, 2008 at 12:37 pm |
I have found that the scapes freeze well. Just shock them in boiling water to stop the enzyme action & seal in a bag. The best way to have plenty of scapes is to grow your own, because they can be hard to find and then they disappear fast! People are really starting to catch on to how good they are!