To Cook Is To Heal

  Who would have ever thought that something as simple, yet unknown as garlic Scapes, would allow me to escape into another wonderful Foodie Find ... For my third attempt at preparing Scapes, I came across a recipe for asparagus by Chef Jenn Allen, and thought "Elephant garlic Scapes" instead... Oven Roasted Asparagus with Mascarpone: The Elephant garlic Scapes are a wonderful substitution, when they are seasonally available. With my final bunch of Scapes in the fridge, I'm off to tinker with this wonderful recipe. Thanks Chef Jenn Allen. Below is my slightly modified recipe specifically for Elephant garlic Scapes. I chose to add a little more heavy cream (to thin the mascarpone more), and used pre-packaged roasted pistachio nuts. Since I could not find raw pistachios to roast in the allotted time I had. Additionally, I decided to chop the nuts slightly to make them easier to chew, and not overpower. The results were very good. The mildness of the roasted Elephant garlic ...

  were a pleasant surprise for me to cook with. After experimenting with the Elephant Garlic Scapes, I was not sure what to expect. What I found out was that the flowers, as with the Elephant Garlic, were mild and flavorful. The Persian having more of a garlic taste, though not over whelming.  Persian Star Garlic Scapes The biggest difference was the stalk. Raw, the Persian has a very strong/sharp garlic almost hot finish. In my opinion they are too strong to use (raw) prominently, they could easily overpower a dish. I decided to use them as a spice to help flavor the meal I was going to prepare, Fried Rice. I used all of the flowers I had (trimmed) and 1 Tbsp. (+/-) of the stalks (diced) as an accompanying flavor in the dish.  Persian Star (top) Elephant (bottom) After dicing the Scape stems, I put up the excess in two smaller air tight glass containers, froze one and put the other in my  fridge door spice rack for later use.  Fresh & frozen diced Scape ste...

  are not something you usually come across. The season is short (late spring into early summer) and often these tasty morsels are tossed out... Or left on the garlic plant to flower and wither away. We came across Scapes at our Saturday farmers market while talking with a local vendor ( Ballard FarmStead ) that specializes in garlic, and elephant garlic.  Persian Star garlic Scapes (top) Elephant garlic Scapes (bottom) Depending on how they are harvested, some trimming is suggested. The flowers should not be open, trimming the fibrous end off just past the flower bulb top. The stalk end should be trimmed enough to eliminate the chewy end (think of asparagus) and any sheath should be removed.  For the smaller bulb garlics, such as Persian Star, trim the stalk an inch (+/-) just before the shoot starts its natural bend/curve. With any new ( to me ) ingredient I like to season and cook it simply. This way I can decide if it will become another ingredient in my ever increasi...