Garlic scapes are ready to eat! You may have noticed these odd looking items popping up in farmers’ markets these days and if you’ve ever wondered what they are, and more importantly what to do with them, hopefully we can help!
Some garlic varieties are “hardnecks” (as opposed to “softnecks”) and tend to grow better in northern climates. These garlics have a stem or “scape” that grows in the central stalk. The scape, if left to mature, forms a bulbil, from which new garlic can be propagated.
However, if scapes are cut soon enough, they are tender and have a lovely subtle garlic flavour. Scapes are harvested for two reasons; one – the plant can direct more energy to growing a nice big garlic bulb and two – the garlic scapes are delicious! Many
liken them to a garlic flavoured green onion. Good news is you can use them almost anywhere you’d use either of those ingredients! We like to grill them, toss them in salads, throw them on pizza or in stir-fries, mix them in with eggs for omelettes. Last night we tossed them in to cook with steamed mussels and sausage. They are quite the versatile ingredient. If you are lucky enough to grab a whole bunch, you might want to try some of the recipes below that will allow you to keep using them throughout the summer!
I like to make a few things with scapes that I can put in jars and keep in the fridge, pantry or freezer for later use. This includes tasty pesto, salsa, pickled scapes and compound butter.
Garlic Scape Pesto
- ¼ cup roasted walnuts (you could use any nut you like)
- ½ cup fresh basil
- ½ cup chopped garlic scapes
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blend with a wand mixer until desired consistency. Use in pastas or as a dip with crackers or breads.
Garlic Scape Salsa
- ½ cup garlic scapes, chopped
- ½ cup parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp capers, chopped
- 4 gherkins, chopped
- juice and zest of ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. I like to do a rough chop so all the ingredients are still distinguishable, but you can make the mix as fine as you’d like. You can eat this on its own, or mix in tomatoes, tomatillos, or even sweet potato. It goes wonderfully well with grilled flank steak or short ribs.
Pickled Garlic Scapes
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 4 tsp kosher salt
- 4 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp hot pepper flakes or 1 hot chili (optional)
- Garlic scapes wound to fill cialis generique a 500 ml jar
Mix first three ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until sugar and salt have dissolved. In the meantime, fill the jar with scapes. Mix hot pepper flakes into the vinegar mixture or add chili to the jar if desired. Pour vinegar in jar, screw on lid and let cool before storing in the fridge. Pickled scapes are delicious and can be used almost anywhere. Try them in marinades, salads, or as a simple side to any meal.
Garlic Scape Compound Butter
Potentially my favourite way to use garlic scapes – or maybe more butter just makes everything better. Blend (using a food processor, wand mixer, blender) fresh, unsalted butter and garlic scapes in a 4:1 ratio. This can be packaged up into individual pats or in larger quantities. It can also be frozen for later use. Melt into potatoes, spread it onto garlic bread or use it to finish grilled steaks. Amazing.
