WOW! Is there anything like fresh green garlic to make you feel that spring has ARRIVED!?!
(Ok – the first crocus and daffodil might also elicit a bit of giddiness – but we don’t EAT those!)
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: THE GARLIC SCALLIONS ARE READY!
Today I went and picked an armful of mizuna – which, by the way, is such an extraordinary green – it’s purplish maroon blush on the topside of the leaves is absolutely beautiful, and its sharp hot, horseradish-like flavor when fresh clears the sinuses. Cooking, as with the garlic, mellows its flavor. Once planted, it seems to re-seed itself prolifically – which is fine, because “weeding” has never been more flavorful!
What could be a better combination than a few garlic scallions (have to test them, you know, to make sure they are ready!), some mizuna, and maybe a tad bit of sea salt, briskly sauteed in a little oil – hmmm…. Oh, dear fresh garlic, how I have missed you this last month! I just cannot break down and buy those 2-for-a-buck inferior bulb varieties that come from who-knows-where. The wait has been worth it! Note: these garlic scallions are from a mixture of gourmet varieties – there is simply no comparison with the “California Early” types grown commercially!
Garlic scallions – or “green garlic” – those tender little morsels before they mature into a pungent clove-divided bulb, spell spring in so many ways! Yes you can eat the shoots! And those garlic cloves that didn’t quite overwinter and have started to sprout? You can still plant them! Even a small pot will do. Crowded is ok. In a couple of months (maybe less), you, too, can be eating your own scallions right from the garden.
Other great ideas for garlic scallions: chopped fresh in salads, humus, pesto (who needs basil?) – or lightly cooked (throw it in at the last minute to not lose the flavor!) in eggs, with pasta, over seafood, in soups, on potatoes, with asparagus – or maybe mixed with leeks or chives and thrown in just about everything.
WANT SOME NOW??? My supplies disappear quickly (they are habit-forming!), but if you live on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State, within reasonable distance of Sequim (gas prices are driving up the cost of food everywhere!), I am most willing to accommodate. Visit my main website at http://barbolian.com.
YES I am open to barter & trades!
How big can they get before they’re too tough to put in a salad or just grill? I bought some at a farmers’ market about 1/2 inch in diameter and they were much too tough to eat raw or grilled. I sliced some , and sauteed them before scrambling my breakfast eggs in the pan and they were delicious, so they’re a great substitute for garlic gloves, so they won’t go to waste.
Hi Larry – Good question! And I’m glad you commented on this post I wrote in ’08 because it made me think back. We have had a really cold spring here and my scapes are not even close to being ready, although I did find a few coming up on the elephant garlic that came up volunteer. I chopped them up (top bulb and all) and sauteed them with some pak choi and a little celery and it was delicious over cous cous. I was in our local grocery today and saw garlic scapes bundled up with rubber bands like asparagus spears going for about $4/lb. They were tall and straight and a little on the thick side: definitely elephant garlic. The top bulbs were quite large. Obviously older than the ones I had just picked.
All garlic scapes are not alike. The elephant scapes in general tend to be thicker, tougher, and stronger flavored (almost bitter). Still good – but best used in soups and stir fries. In my opinion, the scapes of other hardneck varieties are better – much more tender and delicate flavored. You can tell these by their curl. Some varieties even curl full circle. Even the very curly ones, though, if left on the plant too long, make better floral arrangements.
So – I guess I didn’t really answer your question, because it can vary so much, depending on the plant and variety. Fresh scapes should snap like an asparagus. Younger scapes are better for grilling or eating raw. Older ones get tough and stringy. The flower tips can be quite tough, too, depending on when you pick them.
Hope this helps! You can see more about our garlic on my main website at http://barbolian.com (without the WordPress). (You sound like a food adventurer – so my advice is ultimately to grow your own! They are quite adaptable. I have friends who grow them in the high desert of CA – others who winter them out in MT – and my daughter even keeps a few in pots!) But it you can’t grow your own, buying local is the best way to go. The nice thing about farmers’ markets is that you can talk with the growers – so you might ask them what kind they are. Best wishes ….. Blythe
Hmm – Larry – I just re-read your question, and I was thinking about scapes – but you were probably talking about green garlic scallions! Scapes and scallions are not the same! The green garlic scallions are just an early garlic plant, whereas the scape is the shoot that is sent up about this time of year on the elephant and hardneck varieties. At the tip of the shoot is a little flower top that produces seeds. HOWEVER – scapes and scallions are similar in that both are best when young and tender. I have seen some elephant scallions in stores that look about the size of leeks. Sometimes they have little nubs on the bulb that later form into hard-shelled corns that can be planted. I enjoy elephant garlic (often called “king of the roasters”), but they DO tend to be tougher and more bitter than their smaller gourmet cousins. Yes, they are best in soups and stir fries. Be careful not to fry them at too high a temperature, because that makes them more bitter.
I’m glad you followed up. I was talking about scallions, not scapes, and I was a little puzzled when you talked about flowers. I haven’t been back to the market where I bought them, but I will check next time I’m there. Meanwhile what I have are great for a delicate garlic flavor when sliced small and fried — slowly, as you suggest. But they were too tough to grill — have to get them younger I would guess. Thanks for continuing the conversation.
Thanks for checking back in, Larry! Not sure where you’re at, but here in Washington State, all I am seeing are elephant garlics sold as “scallions” in the stores – along with the elephant spears. They are really too tough for a salad, in my opinion, but I sliced some in a frittata this morning, which was great. When I plant my garlic, I usually take the leftover cloves and cram them in a small space to harvest early as “green garlic scallions.” I didn’t do that this last year, though — we just ate them. In the spring, I had some left over that were starting to sprout and so I went ahead and stuck them in the ground. They are coming along nicely — I think I’ll let them get a little bigger before pulling them and using them like green onions. My favorites for grilling, though, are the curly scapes from hardneck varieties – or else the full bulbs later in the year. You inspired me to write a post about scapes and scallions on my regular blog at http://barbolian.com, because others have come to me with the same questions. Thanks again, and best wishes!