Green garlic

[Jesse A]

I picked up a couple stalks (1/3 lb) of green garlic at this weekend's farmers' market and I have no clue what to do with them. I could mince them and use them in place of garlic, but I feel like they demand more special treatment. How can I best appreciate them? Are the green shoots usable or should I stick to the white parts?

[Jensen]

I've used it before to make pesto.

Edited to add this link to recipes for green garlic from The Ladybug Newsletter.

and then edited again to add the link to the pesto recipe.

Edited April 4, 2005 by Jensen (log)

[Wolfert]

Are the green shoots usable or should I stick to the white parts?

The more stalk you use, the better a dish will be.

Use the stalk and the whites in risotto, along with pancetta. In Spain the stalks are chopped and used to flavor all sorts of rice dishes as well as a light and delicate egg tortilla.

Edited April 4, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[carswell]

Green garlic soup! Sweat some chopped onion in butter until translucent. Add chopped green garlic and potato. After 5-10 minutes add chicken stock. Simmer until the potato is tender. Purée. Enrich with cream, if desired.

Sweat chopped green garlic in butter until tender, purée, and use it as the flavouring for a soufflé.

Stuff a stalk or two in the cavity of a large white-fleshed fish (e.g. striped sea bass) with a couple of bay leaves and sprigs of fresh thyme. Roast the fish. Serve drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice. Swoon. You can do something similar with poultry, too, sans the drizzle.

[ladyyoung98]

im guessing that sweat is another word for saute?

edited to add....uh never mind my fiance just explained it to me..just another thing ive done and never knew had a name for it...

Edited April 4, 2005 by ladyyoung98 (log)

[Chufi]

Roast them whole! Cut a slice off the top to make it easier to squeeze out the puree later. Drizzle with olive oil and roast until very tender. It becomes very sweet and nutty and lovely.

(I roasted them recently together with a cut up chicken and potatoes. We squeezed out the puree and spread it on the chicken and potatoes.. ohh it was so good! There were 4 of us and we each ate an entire head of the garlic.)

[Teppy]

When you say "green garlic" do you mean garlic stems? I had these in China, and they were one of the most delicious vegetables I've ever had. I've tried to get them in asian markets here - on a few occasions I've found them, but it must be a real seasonal thing.

Stir-fry them with some salt and maybe a bit of rice vinegar.

[touaregsand]

When you say "green garlic" do you mean garlic stems? I had these in China, and they were one of the most delicious vegetables I've ever had. I've tried to get them in asian markets here - on a few occasions I've found them, but it must be a real seasonal thing.

Stir-fry them with some salt and maybe a bit of rice vinegar.

←

I think Jesse means this.

[andiesenji]

You are correct. Green garlic, also known as "spring" garlic is the first stage of garlic growth, when it is still a single bulb, much like a spring onion, green onion, bunching onion, etc.

When the really hot weather of late spring, early summer arrives, the bulb produces small buds around the base of the original bulb, which grow and fill out until there are up to 30 in some varieties. When the green tops turn brown and fall over, in the fall, the garlic that was planted last fall and overwintered in the ground, is ready to harvest.

However you can break up a head of garlic and plant the individual cloves in the late winter or early spring, or at any time and within a few weeks will have "spring" garlic which should be picked and eaten immediately.

Garlic planted in the spring will not really mature into garlic that can be stored, it remains too full of moisture and will rot.

I speak from experience, I have grown a lot of garlic over the years. It will grow in a window box and if you are growing it for spring or green garlic, it does not require the spacing of garlic planted for full maturity harvesting.

Plant the cloves 1 1/2 inches deep in loose potting soil, 1 1/2 inches apart.

Edited April 10, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[sazji]

This weekend at the market I saw the first bunches of green garlic ("scallion stage") out for sale. It's one of my favorite "spring" vegetables; I've had it in soups, sauteed in olive oil with wild fennel, baby favas and new potatoes, and cooked with eggs in frittattas. How do you like to use it?

[amylou]

Yum!

I prefer to use use green garlic in my vinegrettes as opposed to just regular old garlic. I like the milder flavor better.

I hate washing them, like leeks they are full of dirt!

[Gifted Gourmet]

Raw Green Garlic

Mince and add to my salads, pound it into a paste for green-garlic aioli, use it in my salad dressings ...

Cooked Green Garlic

Simply poach the last 4" of the tips and dress with a mustard vinaigrette, dice and sauté the tender portions and add to an omelet, perhaps a frittata, chop and add to a stir-fry...

[Jensen]

My favourite is green garlic pesto.

[McAuliflower]

My favourite is green garlic pesto.

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recipe?

I just have my pedestrian use of chopping some into tuna sandwiches. We get garlic whistles here, which are the curled tops right before a flower fully forms. This stalk is nice and crunchy raw.

I've also received in my csa bin, bags of what looks lke grass but is actually garlic flavored. A coworker called it Chinese Garlic and said he's had it stir fried. I just chopped it up like chives and added it to my sunny side up eggs.

[Jensen]

Green Garlic Pesto recipe

Enjoy!

[McAuliflower]

Green Garlic Pesto recipe

Enjoy!

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thanks! I bet that would be great on pizza.

[miladyinsanity]

My favourite is green garlic pesto.

←

recipe?

I just have my pedestrian use of chopping some into tuna sandwiches. We get garlic whistles here, which are the curled tops right before a flower fully forms. This stalk is nice and crunchy raw.

I've also received in my csa bin, bags of what looks lke grass but is actually garlic flavored. A coworker called it Chinese Garlic and said he's had it stir fried. I just chopped it up like chives and added it to my sunny side up eggs.

←

Yup, just stirfry it. Don't add any ginger. Can't remember what's it called though.

[Cherie]

I add finely chopped green garlic to a mushroom pate made with St Georges Mushrooms (Calocybe Gambosa).

Cherie

Edited February 18, 2006 by Cherie (log)

[sazji]

I did an adaptation of a soup from the Antep region of Turkey called "Shiweydiz/Shiveydis." Normally its made with lamb simmered with chickpeas, with additions of lots of green garlic and scallions cooked as mentioned above, then thickened with yogurt and egg. I omitted the lamb, used beef broth, and added a healthy couple of handfuls of spinach. Yumm. Half a pot left at home.... Recipe in recipe gullet.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b60/sazji/MVC-853S.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>

Edited February 18, 2006 by sazji (log)

[ACM3]

I used to make a sauce/broth with them. I roasted the white heads, then I blanch and shock the green tops. I then puree both with a little chicken stock, season with a little salt and pass thoruogh a chinois. It comes out bright green and tastes great. I used to serve it with fork smashed yukon gold potatoes and grilled salmon. It was a nice springtime lunch entree