- The Story of Garlic Scapes
- Fried Scapes
- Garlic Scape Pesto
The story of garlic scapes:
The story starts with the garlic clove. The cloves are planted in the fall and sprout in the early spring. We grow a couple of varieties of garlic, a softneck and a hardneck variety. Around this time of year, the hardneck plants send out a bonus central stem which goes straight up and then usually makes one or two loops. (You could think of the stem like the flowering stalk of many plants when they are anxious to “go to seed.”) In the case of hardneck garlic, instead of an actual flower at the top, there’s a little bulge that contains “bulbils” or miniature cloves. The part that is good to eat, with a mild garlic flavor, is the green stem itself, sauteed or steamed in a pan like asparagus. Todd would be sure to tell you that garlic scapes are mild enough to eat raw, chopped on soup or in salad. He also eats raw alfalfa on a regular basis.
Fried Scapes (from dakotagarlic.com)
Cut scapes to green bean size and
saute them in butter and salt for six to eight minutes.
During the last minute of cooking add about 1 tsp. of balsamic vinegar.
Garlic Scape Pesto (from maryjanesfarm.com/SimplyMJ)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 lb. scapes
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt
to taste
Puree scapes and olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Stir in
Parmesan and lime or lemon juice and season to taste. Serve on bread,
crackers or pasta.
