beXnlog

Great Scapes

We were terribly worried last fall/winter about garlic. Neither of us had grown it, nor knew anyone who tried. The only information i got was from dude who was planting his first batch as well. All i knew was that real, fresh, hardneck garlic was to kill for, and that we were late to plant.

We were so late that Peaceful Valley was already sold out of some varieties and what was left was discounted. I bought a pound each of Music and Legacy, and we planted 16 big cloves of each in our two Square Foot Gardening boxes.

Over the winter, they did sprout and grow. Every single clove sprouted, too! Right now all 32 garlic plants are over 2 feet tall. Some of the tips are slightly brown but apparently this is normal. I don't know if we're lucky gardeners, if the SFG method kicks ass, or if garlic is really just that easy to grow -- but we're definitely growing it again this fall.

Phase two (one was planting) is harvesting the "scapes" or flower stalks of the garlic plant. Our garlic grew such beautiful curvy scapes i felt bad cutting them, but it had to be done. Apparently you need to cut the scapes so more energy goes into growing the bulb instead of making a flower. Scapes are a delicacy known to few, so if you see them at the farmers' market and love garlic, definitely check them out.

Cutting the scapes was insane. be was using pruning shears and i was using scissors. I harvested the longer scapes of Music while he cut the shorter Legacy. The air was crazy heavy with garlic, like a perfumey blanket. You could actually see the glistening garlic juice on the cut ends. I was sniffing a stalk when i accidentally bonked my lip with it and i was smelling garlic for a whole day!



So what does one do with 32 garlic scapes? We gave some to my mom, some to the Rices and have some saved for Jomar. I made the rest of the Legacy into pesto. Online everyone raves about pesto and i love it so. Some people online suggest stir-frying it, which changes the texture into something like green beans; perhaps i'll try this with the Music. What i didn't get was how everyone online described garlic scapes as having "all the garlic flavor with none of the bite." I tried a few pieces raw and my scapes certainly had "bite!" Sure, it's not exactly like biting into a crispy clove of hardneck garlic but it had a hot bite and left us with major garlic breath!

The recipe i tweaked was from the Washington Post here.

Harley's Garlic Scape Pesto

1 cup chopped garlic scapes (10 garlic scapes, more if shorter, less if longer)
1/3 cup walnuts or pinenuts
1/2 cup or more of extra virgin olive oil
1/2-1 t sea salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

1) Wash the scapes. Cut off the flower and discard. Trim the stalk end if it looks dry. Coarsely chop up.
2) Break up the walnuts, or leave pinenuts whole, and heat in a skillet over low heat until toasted, stirring frequently.
3) In a food processor or blender, process the scapes and nuts until combined.
4) Add the olive oil and process until pastelike, scraping down the sides if necessary. Add more oil if you need it.
5) Put the pesto into a bowl and stir in the salt and pepper.
6) To freeze cubes for later use, use an ice cube tray. Freeze the cubes and then put in an airtight container to use when needed. My batch made 11 cubes after eating some of the pesto fresh on toasted bread.

The garlic scape pesto certainly is delicious! It's different from basil-based pesto but the garlic flavor is all there. Now, i just hope phase 3 (harvesting and curing of the bulbs) goes just as well!

posted by beXn @ 11:02 AM