It always makes me feel good to visit our local farmer's market. I love to support the locavore movement, and I usually learn something new from the farmers or their assistants. This week was no exception.
Front and center were beautiful garlic scapes, which shoot up from the bulb looking like green curling ribbon. Garlic, part of the allium family along with onions and leeks, grows underground. As the bulb matures, a shoot pokes its way up through the dirt. If left attached, the shoot will inhibit further growth of the bulb, so farmers lop them off.
What can you do with these shoots, which taste -- at least to me -- like a cross between garlic and onion? A lot it turns out. From various food blogs come these suggestions:
- dice them into scrambled eggs
- slice them thin into a salad
- sauté them
- use a small bit in guacamole
- turn them into pesto
Here's one pesto recipe, from the What Geeks Eat blog:
Garlic scape pesto
1 pound garlic scapes
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Olive oil (about 1/2 to 1 cup)
Pine nuts if available
Chop the garlic scapes into 3 inch lengths. Put it in the food processor and process until pureed. Add the parmesan and pine nuts and process until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil as the food processor runs and continue until all the oil is combined into the garlic. Store in an air-tight jar in the refrigerator.
Do any Nation members have a good garlic scape recipe to share? Let us know!
