Garlic Scapes

In the next week or so you may be lucky enough to find garlic scapes at your farmers market, in your CSA basket, or in your garden. Scapes are the flower stalk produced by hardneck garlic. They're a real treat and taste like a crispy green bean with a mild garlic flavor.

Prized by garlic aficionados around the world, scapes are especially delicious when used in vegetable stir fry dishes. All you need to do is rinse them, remove and discard the flower head, cut the scapes in one inch or half inch pieces, and saute them in some hot olive oil. They can then be enjoyed plain or served over some brown rice for a quick side dish. I like to combine them with red bell pepper slices and shitake mushrooms. My recipe for Garlic Scapes with Red Bell Peppers and Shitake Mushrooms, which is great served with grilled chicken, fish, or beef, can be found in the Spring Recipe Section of this site.

When harvesting or purchasing garlic scapes, look for ones that are still curled. Straight scapes are past their prime. If you see them at the market this weekend, buy them and then use them as quickly as possible. The season and shelf life for garlic scapes is, alas, very short.

Photo: Garlic Scapes in the Dirtpatch Garden