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Garlic Scapes . . . mmmmmm The Garlic Scape is the "flower stalk" of the Hard Neck Garlic. This wonderful curled green . . . is not only beautiful to look at but but has amazing flavor with a nutritional punch. 1. Scape Pesto . . . Far and away most peoples favorite use for garlic scapes is pesto, either straight-up or mixed with herbs like basil and dill. Pesto showcases raw scapes in all their glory. Scape pesto can be very pungent when first made, but it mellows substantially after a few months in the freezer. Many enjoy it best in the middle of winter. Some say it's because one part mellowing and two parts deprivation. 2. Grilled Scapes or Roasted Scapes: Another great way to showcase scapes is to grill them, tossed with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, over direct heat for about two minutes. Flip them once, halfway through, and finish with an extra sprinkle of flaky salt and maybe a bit of lemon juice and zest. They'll be charred in spots and just soft enough, and their flavor will have sweetened and mellowed dramatically. Grilled scapes are surprisingly reminiscent of asparagus, and surprisingly different from raw scapes. (Toss them with some oil, flaked salt and cracked pepper, roast on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven - flip them over after about 5 minutes, when you smell wonderful garlic goodness - they should be tender with crisp tips.) 2b.) Scapes as vegetable: Scapes also work well as a vegetable, cut into lengths and added to stirfries or blanched and added to salads, much as you might use green beans. They are wonderful in potato salad, macaroni salad or other summer favorites in the place of green onion or onions. 3. Scape Hummus: For the same reason they work well in pesto, scapes are a brilliant swapin for garlic in your favorite homemade hummus. They work well in tahinifree, lemon infused hummus where they can have a chance to shine. Edamame "hummus" with scapes works nicely too, and color coordination is tough to argue. 4. Scape Compound Butter: Scapes would make a lovely compound butter with a little lemon and maybe some fresh thyme. You could use the butter to make a tarted-up garlic bread, and most anything that could be tossed on the grill can finished with a nice slice of this melting goodness. 5. Scapes as aromatic: To take a more utilitarian approach, you can slice scapes to whatever length you like and use them as you would garlic, as an aromatic in a wide variety of recipes. Scapes lose a lot of their bite when sautéed, more so than garlic cloves, so use at least three or four times as much scapeage as you would clove-age.
Roasted Garlic Recipe Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes
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1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.
3. Place the garlic heads in a baking pan; muffin pans work well for this purpose. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head, using your fingers to make sure the garlic head is well coated. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.
4. Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. Use a cocktail fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins. Eat as is (I love straight roasted garlic) or mash with a fork and use for cooking. Can be spread over warm French bread, mixed with sour cream for a topping for baked potatoes, or mixed in with Parmesan and pasta.
Garlic Fettuccine Alfredo Garnish with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. Recipe Yield: 8 servings · 1 1/2 cups nonfat evaporated milk · 1 medium size bulb of garlic, or 12 cloves · 2 tablespoons lowfat cream cheese · 1/2 cup nonfat milk · 1 teaspoon cornstarch · 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese · 1 pound dry fettuccine pasta 1. Combine 1 1/2 cup evaporated milk and garlic cloves in a pan, heat and simmer until garlic is soft (about 15-20 minutes). Milk will reduce a little. 2. In a blender, puree milk and garlic mixture with cream cheese until smooth. 3. Return mixture to pan and add 1/2 cup nonfat milk and cornstarch. Heat to simmer. Sauce will thicken slightly. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. 4. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook
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