Valley Bounty: June 14, 2014: Garlic Scapes

Garlic scapes, the edible flower stem of garlic, are the playful, curly green shoot you’ll see at farmers’ markets, farm stands, or in your CSA share this time of year. The scape is pulled from the garlic stalk, allowing the bulb to properly size up. Easily substituted for garlic cloves, scapes are milder and more fibrous, and add more color and texture to dishes. Below, find recipes and preservation tips to make this springy treat last all year long.

By Abby Getman

Recipes:

Try this Garlic Scape Okonomiyaki (savory Japanese pancake) recipe from Five and Spice blog.

The Kitchen Garden has an excellent Garlic Scape and Spinach Soup to try,

Or make a scape dressing for your salad!

Check out Mary McClintock’s article on scapes, strawberries and the Solstice here.

Preservation Tips:

Garlic Scape Pesto is by far my favorite way of preserving garlic scapes. Check out a versatile and fool-proof recipe here. 

Scape infused oil from Amherst cook & food blogger, Leslie Cerier, is an easy way to add light garlic flavors to any dish.

Pickled scapes are commonly adapted from Ball Blue Book’s Dilly Bean recipe by Herrick Kimball on his blog, the Deliberate Agrarian.