Since I’ve been hanging out in Jerusalem with my kids, I’ve had a chance to enjoy the huge CSA (community supported agriculture) boxes that arrive regularly to their front door. This past week they received what Israelis call “green garlic,” and they enjoyed using it in salads like they use green onions, but otherwise weren’t sure what it was or where it came from. So I thought it might be nice to talk about green garlic, also known as “garlic scapes.” Garlic and the entire family of Allium relatives (leeks, chives, scallions, onions) begin their underground lives as soft bulbs. As the bulbs begin to harden, a shoot rises up, breaks through the soil to the air, and curls above ground. This shoot, or flower stalk, is called the scape, and it supposedly appears on only the finest hardneck varieties of garlic. If left unattended, garlic scapes eventually straighten, harden, and turn opaque white/beige in color, like a garlic peel. Unfortunately, however, they also absorb a share of energy from the plant, and that prevents the bulb beneath the soil from growing large and fragrant. So farmers often harvest the garlic scape in full curl, when it is still tender and delicious, and before it hardens and takes energy from the garlic bulbs below ground. Back in northeast Ohio, the garlic scapes won’t come up for a few more months, so you may want to save these ideas for when they do.

Here are some things that you can do with garlic scapes:

1) Grill or saute them like asparagus;
2) Chop them up and add to scrambled eggs, roasted vegetables, salad, rice, pasta, or a stir-fry;
3) Cut them to into 2-inch long sections (green-bean size), saute in olive oil for 6-8 minutes, and splash with a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar in the last minute of cooking;
4) Make garlic scape pesto: Chop 4-8 garlic scapes into 1-2 inch pieces and toss into a food processor. Add 3 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup walnuts or pumpkin seeds, toasted if you’d like. Slowly pour in 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, some salt and pepper, and give it a spin and, voila, garlic scape pesto! Then spread your pesto on toast, or add it to pasta.
5) Here’s something else you can do with your garlic scape pesto: Place a tablespoonful of pesto in a little ramekin with a raw egg (cracked open, no shell), and bake in the toaster oven at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Many years ago, when my youngest was in high school, I used to run downstairs early in the morning, set up 2 ramekins with these baked eggs, and put them in the toaster oven for the two of us. The flavor was so heavenly and memorable that it put a glow on the rest of the day.
6) Peel small-medium sized whole onions, sprinkle lightly with olive oil, and roast 30-45 min until softening and browning. Remove from oven, spread 1 tsp. garlic scape pesto on top, return to oven for 5 more minutes, and serve.