The first time I ever saw a real, live garlic scape was about a year ago at the farmers’ market—not something I’d seen in Hawaii, nor in the home I’d grown up in. I remember thinking to myself what a crazy thing to come up out of the earth! I had to ask the vendor what it was since it was so new to me, and, of course, I bought a bunch just because their shape was so wildly intriguing.
In case you didn’t know, garlic scapes are the flower that grows out of the hard-necked garlic clove. Farmers usually cut them off to allow the bulb to develop more of the growth and flavor until they are ready to harvest later in the growing season. Instead of throwing them away or into a compost pile, they’ve become their own food. And they are delicious!
I didn’t know what to do with them the first time, so I chopped them up with some chives and made a compound butter. I spread that on a baguette and stuck it under the broiler—yes, I made garlic bread, and it was so much milder than with cloves of garlic due to the less pungent intensity of the scapes, but still brimming with garlic flavor.
Well, guess what? The garlic scapes are back at the market; now I know what to do with them.
Garlic bread is still a great idea, but my research has told me that if combined with a can of white beans, it makes a delicious dip, not unlike hummus, but just a bit different. It goes really well with corn chips, and I highly recommend it. I also had to try them with my favorite thyme-roasted potatoes. Delicious! Lastly, I couldn’t resist trying a version of garlic scape pesto that I served with an amazing prosciutto and tomato salad—that in itself is a great pairing. Yes, it’s starting to feel like summer!
So here are three recipes to try beyond compound butter, and that’s pretty darn tasty, too.
White Bean Dip with Garlic Scapes
(Adapted from Melissa Clark and The New York Times)
You will need a food processor or blender for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 3-4 garlic scapes, chopped
- A small handful of chives, chopped
- 1 lemon, juiced (Meyer if you can find it)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup + a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- Chive flowers for garnish, optional
- Corn chips for serving
Place the garlic scapes, chives, salt, pepper, and lemon juice into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the beans and purée.
While the processor is running, add the olive oil through the top and whirl it until it is combined. Add water a little bit at a time until it is smooth and dip-like. Taste and adjust seasoning. When the flavor is satisfactory, turn it into a serving bowl and drizzle a bit of olive oil over it. Garnish with chive flowers, if available and desired. That old standby, chopped parsley also works well, too.
You can serve this with any kind of chips, crackers, bread, or crudités, but as I mentioned, corn chips go spectacularly well!
Roast Potatoes with Garlic Scapes
I usually soak my potatoes in water for a few hours first—I find they usually come out crisper on the outside and soft on the inside.
Ingredients
- 6-7 gold potatoes, cut into 1-½-inch pieces
- 3 garlic scapes, flower tops removed
- 1-2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- ~ 1½-2 Tbsp olive oil, divided use
- Red onion slices
- Salt & pepper to taste
Wash potatoes and cut into 1-½-inch pieces. Place them into a bowl and cover them with water. Set aside for at least 1 hour.
When you are ready to roast the potatoes, preheat the oven to 375º F. Cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.
Drain the potatoes, place them into a bowl with the thyme leaves, and drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over them. Stir to coat. If you need a little bit more oil, go ahead and add a little bit more. Spread the potatoes on the prepared baking sheet and roast, turning them over every 20 minutes or so. After about 40 minutes, stir in the red onion slices and roast for another twenty minutes or so.
While the potatoes are roasting, mince the garlic scapes and put them into a small frying pan. Add a small amount of olive oil into the pan and sauté them for about 5 minutes. This will take just a little bit of the edge off them. Once the potatoes are done (you’ll know because they’ll be golden brown), transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl, stir the sautéed scapes into the potatoes, and serve. This serves 3-4.
Garlic Scape Pesto
I like to use macadamia nuts in my pestos—to me, they add something special to them that makes it worth the cost. Of course, you can use any nut you like or find available.
You will need a food processor or blender for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 3-4 garlic scapes, flower ends removed and chopped
- 1-½ cups basil leaves
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup macadamia (or any other) nuts
- Kosher salt & pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Start with the garlic scapes by placing them into the food processor and pulsing until they are minced. Add the basil leaves, parmesan, Mac nuts, and lemon juice and pulse. You may need to stop the processor to push the leaves down a few times, so do that if you must.
Once the ingredients are thoroughly minced, slowly add about half the olive oil through the top of the processor and continue to whirl until smooth. Gradually add more olive oil until it reaches the consistency that feels right—it’s up to you and how you like it! Finally, taste and add salt a bit at a time and pulse until it tastes right to you. Add a bit of pepper and pulse again. This makes a little over a cup.
What I love about pesto is its ability to transform so many dishes. Have it on sandwiches, bagels, pasta, pizza, and salads.
The salad shown here includes a layer of homegrown lettuce, prosciutto, heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, artichokes, olives, avocado, and burrata cheese. If you’ve never had pesto on salad before, maybe it’s time you tried it—and maybe it’s also time you’ve tried garlic scapes!
