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Garlic
Scapes
Photo:
Garlic Scapes, David MacTavish, Hutchinson
Farm, Burlington, ON, June 13, 2013
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Grown at Hutchinson Farm since
2013. Available June 2018.
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Allium sativum
A proper vegetable will grow straight and tall like
asparagus, but not garlic scapes. They twist and turn,
do loop de loops, and make you wonder just what they are
and what to do with them! Unless ypu are a botanist,
consider scapes to be the immature "flowers" of the
garlic plant. They are removed so that the plant puts
its energy into the bulb. They taste just like mild
garlic.
- In season
Mid June -watch for them, the season
is only two weeks long!
- Purchasing tips
The smaller the better (perfect size in
photo), and they should be fresh and firm.
- Storing at
home
Scapes keep for a week in water.
- Cultivars
Just as there are differences in the cloves
of garlic varieties, there is also some variation
in size and time of maturity of the scapes.
However, the scapes are pretty much the same, and
we mix them up from the following varieties:
Porcelain: Music
Purple Stripe: Chesnok Red
Marbled Purple Stripe: Kostyn's Red
Russian
Rocambole: French Rocambole
- Preserve
Scapes can be pickled, or made into pesto.
- Preparation
Scapes taste just like garlic and can be
substituted in just about any recipe that calls
for garlic or green onions such as soups, stews,
omelets, dips, rubs, etc. In terms of flavour, 4 -
6 scapes equals the flavour of 1 clove.
- Favourite
Recipes
Grilled: toss in a bit of olive oil, salt and
pepper, cook til part brown on BBQ or in a pan.
- Garlic
Scape Pesto
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 bunch scapes (about 1/4 lb)
1/2 cup olive oil
Blend until smooth
Refrigerate in airtight containers
Freezes exceptionally well
-use anywhere you would use regular pesto, with
pasta, as a pizza sauce, as a condiment, meat
rubs, or anywhere you would use garlic!
- Scape
Pickles
Select a clean sealer jar of about 500 ml capacity
along with its covers. A little larger
if necessary.
Wash two or three bunches of scapes and toss them
into a pan of boiling water for two-three minutes
Cool them and cut them into short serving lengths
of about 1-inch to 1½ - inches, and put them into
the sealer jar.
In a clean pan, boil one cup of white wine vinegar
along with one cup of liquid honey, stirring until
well blended. Pour the hot mixture
over the garlic scapes in the sealer jar and allow
to cool.
When cool, place the cover, and screw on the
retention ring. Place in the fridge
and use as desired.
The method doesn’t sterilise, but, given that
everything is boiled, and that honey and vinegar
are natural preservatives, the pickled scapes will
last for some time, although they are usually
eaten long before any chance of them spoiling.
The pickled scapes go well with salads, or as
complements to any dishes where other pickles
would be used. Great on a hamburger!
CANNELLINI BEAN DIP WITH GARLIC
SCAPES
16 servings.
Equipment
food processor
Ingredients
15 ounces (425 g) cannellini
beans, canned, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup garlic scapes, chopped
1/2 cup (100 g) grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (120 ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
SERVE WITH
whole grain crackers
sliced baguette
grape tomato halves
Preparation
1. Add the beans to the bowl
of the food processor and pulse 3 or 4 times. Add
the garlic scapes and olive oil and process for
about 30 seconds.
2. Add the lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper
and process until the dip is thick and creamy. If
the dip is a little dry, add 1 to 2 more
tablespoons of olive oil and process. Serve with
whole grain crackers or sliced baguette.
Variations
You can also use about 5 or 6
fresh garlic cloves instead of garlic scapes.If
your scapes are very spicy, you can reduce the
amount or add some flat leaf parsley to balance
the flavor
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