July 03, 2008
Garlic Scapes
Much to our delight, we encountered a new vegetable taste sensation yesterday at the Farmer's Market - garlic scapes. We were drawn to their snake pit likeness, imagining them plated next to a tofu portion. However. at six dollars a pound it did seem an extravagance. When we mentioned to the dashing young farmer (they're all dashing these days, if you haven't noticed) that the scapes didn't seem to be selling like hotcakes, he said it was because the impact of the New York Times feature on garlic scapes was dying down. That did it. We sprang for a half pound.
For purposes of culinary purity, we decided on a simple saute in olive oil. The resulting vegetative experience proved to be rather like eating those tough blades of crab grass one pulled from the lawn as a child, and strung through one's front teeth. Not entirely unpleasant, but for the money, artichokes would have been a better investment. Perhaps making the more time consuming soup would have been a better choice, since overall chewiness was definitely a problem.
Our only regret is that we didn't take more raw pictures, since garlic scapes will be out of season momentarily and we'll have to wait for next year for some more artful shots
Photo note: Garlic scapes on first sighting
Posted by Dakota at July 3, 2008 08:00 AM