Valley Bounty: Garlic Scapes

There’s something really tactilely satisfying about clutching a big tangled mess of garlic scapes, like I did over the weekend when I picked up my first farm share of the season. It’s kind of like a summer version of that Halloween game where you put your hand in a bowl of cooked spaghetti and someone tells you in a spooky voice that it is witch’s hair, except the garlic scapes don’t foreshadow the candy-induced stomach ache that the game inevitably did.

Assuming you want to do something with your scapes besides clutch them, I’ve tended to default to tossing them in a little salt, pepper, and olive oil and throwing them on the grill until they just start to blacken. You can also sauté them to add to pasta, tacos, eggs, or stir fry. Puree scapes with pine nuts, grated Parmesan, olive oil, salt, and pepper to make an easy pesto that will last a little longer than basil pesto (the garlic doesn’t oxidize the way basil does) and goes great on chicken, fish, pizza, or even straight on a baguette round with a bit of cheese.

Valley Bounty is written by Brian Snell of CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture)