Garlic scapes, shoots, greens

[Really Nice!]

I just came back from the market with a bunch of fresh garlic. The greens are about two-feet long. Are they edible? If yes, what can I do with them. I checked my French and Italian cookbooks and came up with nothing.

I'd like to try infusing an oil with some, and sauteing the rest.

Thoughts?

[pixelchef]

Absolutely they are.

They have a light garlic flavour and work really well in soups and stir-fries. Even chopped in a salad.

[Xanthippe]

Oh, I adore green garlic, which is plentiful in our local farmers' markets right now. What pixelchef said, and more. I often use green garlic as a "substitute" ingredient in recipes calling for leeks.

Edit to add: Are we talking the same thing? Garlic greens and green garlic?? Now I'm confused . . .

Edited May 18, 2003 by Xanthippe (log)

[Mistinguett]

This is what I do:

Soften a regular onion cut in quarters and then in thin strips. Add equal parts of garlic greens and scallion, cut in 2 inch pieces. Saute until they soften. Salt and pepper, add dill and parsley (lots).

Goes great with lamb and chicken.

[torakris]

The garlic stems are wonderful and are very popular in Japan. They go well in any type of stir fry, I find them too strong to eat raw. You can really toss them anywhere you would use garlic and/or onions.

[Really Nice!]

Oh, I adore green garlic, which is plentiful in our local farmers' markets right now.  What pixelchef said, and more.  I often use green garlic as a "substitute" ingredient in recipes calling for leeks.

Edit to add:  Are we talking the same thing?  Garlic greens and green garlic??  Now I'm confused . . . 

Thanks, all.

I'm talking about the stems above the (single) bulb. They looked and tasted much like green onions. I thought they could be eaten, but when I couldn't find any recipes I started to wonder.

For last night's dinner I made zucchini 'spaghetti'.

Slice the garlic bulb very thinly with a truffle slicer; mince about two tablespoons of greens.

Slice the zucchini into thin strips (about 1/16" thick) using a mandolin. Spinkle it with Kosher salt and wait about 5 minutes to help draw out excess water. Pat dry with paper towels.

Toss it into a skillet with olive oil. Toss for about 1 minute; add garlic bulb and greens.

Toss for another two minutes.

Served it with slow roasted baby back ribs.

[Xanthippe]

Oh, I adore green garlic, which is plentiful in our local farmers' markets right now.  What pixelchef said, and more.  I often use green garlic as a "substitute" ingredient in recipes calling for leeks.

Edit to add:  Are we talking the same thing?  Garlic greens and green garlic??  Now I'm confused . . . 

Thanks, all.

I'm talking about the stems above the (single) bulb. They looked and tasted much like green onions. I thought they could be eaten, but when I couldn't find any recipes I started to wonder.

Ah, then we are indeed talking the same thing -- the long, lovely green stems. Love 'em!

Last night's dinner sounds delicious . . .

[Jon Tseng]

In China they have garlic shoots, which are long, green stems with a wonderfully "meaty" texture.

I rarely see them in western supermarkets (at least in UK)

I presume they are from some sort of garlic, but think it may be different from normal western bulb garlic (they certainly don't taste that oniony)

anyhow, worth a look for if you're in chinatown. they're called suan cai (lit. garlic veg)

cheerio

J

[GG Mora]

Yesterday was lop-off-the-scapes day in the garden. I've got a big bag of them (it would have been bigger, but I gave away a small bagful before I'd eaten any & discovered how GOOD they are).

I trimmed off the buds, then coated the scapes with oil, sprinkled with S&P and grilled them about 3 minutes per side (sorry, no pics. Camera battery depleted after graduation exercises...). Holy. Them's good.

I still have half a bag. What are some other ways to prepare them? Preferably something that doesn't mask or muddle the flavor.

Grazie ahead of time.

[balmagowry]

I snip 'em into salad, like chives but more flavorful. If you grow shallots, them makes good greens for the same purpose. Used to keep a pot of each going on my windowsill all winter, and snip a bit of both for every salad.

[andiesenji]

I chop them and toss with a medley of steamed wild and brown rices along with crumbled crisp bacon. Tucked into pita this is very tasty.

[redfox]

They are also very good chopped in a frittata. I never thought of grilling them -- I'll definitely be trying that with my next batch.

[ElfWorks]

scapes?

lisa

[GG Mora]

scapes?

The flower stalk of the garlic plant. Many (most?) garlic growers remove the flower stalk before the bud opens, allowing the plant to concentrate its energy in the bulb. This page has quite a few good photos.

Grilling mellowed their mild bite and left them sweet and with a texture akin to young asparagus.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Squeat Mungry and I both bought scapes at the SF Ferry Market a few weeks ago. I wasn't terribly impressed but am now wondering if I should not have cooked them, but eaten them raw?

I pan-sauteed them along with fresh porcini mushrooms and tossed along with English peas (blanched) and a light walnut oil/balsamic vinaigrette. The rest of the salad (served cold) was great, but the scapes didn't add much to the dish.

[ElfWorks]

thanks gg!! those sound like something moi would love!!!

im gonna have to do some serious checking into these!!

lisa

[balmagowry]

I should perhaps rephrase my post about this - those are actually a lot more mature than I ever let mine get when I was growing them just for salad use. What I was really referring to were young garlic shoots - probably a lot more tender and with a more delicate flavor than full-scale scapes. BTW I do have some real scapes, though (can't remember whether the same term is used with other alliums), on my Catawissa Egyptian Walking Onions. Traditionally you don't cut those, except when you actually need to use a few - that's how the onions "walk." So you don't get a very large onion. but you sure get plenty of 'em. You can also use the bulbils (a word I can never mention without thinking of Abdul Emir) as if they were shallots - they dry well and also, I gather, are good pickled, though I haven't yet tried that. And of course the young 'uns make splendid scallions, and they don't seem to have a particular season, so they provide a virtually year-round supply of all four stages. Very convenient, them old-fashioned walking onions.

Edited June 21, 2004 by balmagowry (log)

[laurel]

I stir fry them quickly with a bit of soy sauce. Tastes kind of like dry-fried long beans.

[Jason Perlow]

I stir fry them quickly with a bit of soy sauce. Tastes kind of like dry-fried long beans.

Yes, they are used in Chinese stir fry dishes.

[mongo_jones]

the wife does incredible things with them involving sesame oil and frying. i will try to cadge a recipe out of her.

[Abra]

I've eaten a ton of them this spring, since we had both elephant garlic scapes available at the store, and regular scapes at the farmers' market. I roast them in a 425 degree oven, preferably with some nice fat asparagus. Spritz it all with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast for 15-20 minutes, until sweet and tender. Sprinkle on a little fleur de sel, a dash of balsamic if you like, and yum!

Edited June 22, 2004 by Abra (log)

[sweintraub]

I steamed a bunch, and tossed a bit of butter on them, plus a little salt and pepper. Not bad.

[Ruth]

Last night I cut some scapes into 2" lengths (including the buds), blanched about 20 secs and then combined them with sautéed eggplant and a couple of oven-dried tomatoes as a sauce for pasta. The scapes had a good crunch and retained their garlicky flavor.

[GG Mora]

Last night I cadged together this salad, which highlighted the scapes nicely:

• Masses of young spicy mesclun from the garden
  
• Toasted pine nuts
  
• Crumbled gorgonzola
  
• Vermont bacon cut into 1/2-inch pieces and slow-fried until lightly brown and tender-crisp, drained on paper toweling
  
• 1-inch pieces of garlic scape, tossed quickly in the hot bacon fat & then drained on paper toweling
  

All of the above tossed together with light OO, balsamic vinegar, fleur de sel and very coarsely ground black pepper. Served mounded on a plate with a poached egg on top.

The scapes were still crunchy and retained their garlicky bite. Bacon, cheese and pine nuts in small enough quantities to not overwhelm. Runny egg yolk mixed throughout. We could have licked the plates clean, it was so good.

[chickenlady]

The scapes were still crunchy and retained their garlicky bite. Bacon, cheese and pine nuts in small enough quantities to not overwhelm. Runny egg yolk mixed throughout. We could have licked the plates clean, it was so good.

GG Mora, that salad sounds incredible! I need to pick mine this week, and that will definitely be on the menu.

I'd also love to hear Mrs. Jones sesame oil treatment. Please employ coercive tactics as necessary.