Garlic

Garlic Scape Croutons

From Spring Hill Member, Lynn Cooper: “These were the best croutons I ever made, so I wanted to share. I invented the recipe the other day and they were great on top of a salad of beets, arugula and bleu cheese with our house vinaigrette.”

Ingredients:
2 cups ½ inch bread cubes, made from sturdy bread
1 or 2 garlic scapes, minced
1 or 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions: The best bread is homemade sourdough that is just a bit stale. If you lack a baker in your house, use any firm white bread.

Turn the oven to 400°. Spread bread on a cookie sheet. Shove it in the oven. Toast bread cubes until they just begin to brown.

Heat oil in a large fry pan. Add scapes and cook until they begin to soften. Toss in the bread and stir until cubes are coated and maybe brown the bread a bit more if you like. Remove from heat and try to keep people from eating them until your salad is ready. Be sure to scrape the brown bits left in the pan onto your salad too.

In case you have scapes still sitting around – or grabbed some from the “extras” box,
Mike McMahon sent this along …

Garlic Scape Basil Pesto

(Makes about 1 cup pesto)

3 tablespoons walnut pieces
1 cup garlic scapes, washed and roughly chopped
1 cup basil leaves (tightly packed)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus additional if necessary)
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

1. Toast the walnut pieces: in a small, dry skillet, add the walnut pieces and toast over medium heat until lightly browned and fragrant. Cool.
2. In the bowl of the food processor, combine the cooled walnut pieces, the garlic scapes, the basil, a pinch of salt, a grinding of black pepper, and the olive oil. Pulse until a rough paste forms. Add additional olive oil if the mixture is too dense.
3. Scrape the mixture into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan. Taste and correct for salt.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Ingredients:
1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1/3 cup walnuts
¾ cup olive oil
¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiano
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
Method:
Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper.

Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. For ½ pound short pasta such as penne, add about 2 tablespoons of pesto to cooked pasta and stir until pasta is well coated.

Garlic Scape Pesto #2

Marilyn Johnson and Dave Bostrom sent along this recipe that they discovered in the Wedge Coop Newsletter. The newsletter suggests that this pesto can be tossed with hot pasta, spread on sandwiches or used as a dip for fresh vegetables.

1 cup garlic scapes, sliced crosswise (about 10-12 scapes)
¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup basil leaves
Juice and zest of one lemon
Salt

Place the garlic scapes in a food processor and pulse for 30 seconds. Add the sunflower seeds and pulse for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the olive oil and process on high for 15 seconds. Add the Parmesan cheese and lemon zest and pulse until the ingredients are combined. Add the basil and lemon juice, and process until reaching the desired consistency. Add salt to taste and serve immediately.

Garlic Scape Pesto #3

(Recipes and suggestions from Keene Garlic in Sun Prairie, WI)
1/2 cup garlic scapes, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cups grated Parmesan cheese – the real stuff!
Salt to taste (optional)
Fresh cracked pepper

Put garlic scapes and lemon juice in a food processor with the steel blade, and process until scapes are finely chopped. With food processor running, add oil through the feed tube and process less than 30 seconds. Remove lid, add half of parmesan cheese and process until well mixed less than 10-20 seconds or use the pulse to mix the pesto, then add the rest of cheese and cracked pepper. Process until all the pesto is mixed well.
A few ways to use your garlic scape pesto:
– Toss 2T-4T of the garlic scape pesto with cream cheese for a cracker spread
– Wisk in Olive oil with 1t of mustard for vinaigrette.
– Spread on pizza crust and add cheese
– Use as a sandwich spread on Chicken and grill or bake
– Use as a layer in lasagna
– Wisk into eggs for Quiche

Garlic Winter Greens and Chickpea Salad

serves 2-4 (whiteonricecouple.com) Author’s note: “You can use any greens you want (cabbage, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, beet greens, swiss chard) but as long as they are tender. If your greens are a little tougher, you might want to blanch them in hot water to tenderize them before the sauté.”
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4-5 medium cloves fresh garlic, minced
About 1 pound of greens, chopped (remove any tough stems or inner ribs) use komatsuna and arugula
1 – 14.5 ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained & rinsed
2 teaspoons soy sauce (use Tamari Soy Sauce for Gluten Free)
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon rice vinegar (use distilled white vinegar for gluten free)
Kosher or sea salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Heat large sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add oil, then add the garlic. Cook garlic until translucent and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add the greens and cook the greens until they are wilted and tender, folding the greens a couple times while cooking to help them cook evenly (depending on the greens this usually only takes a minute or two). Remove the pan from heat.
Add the chickpeas, soy sauce, sesame seed oil, rice vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Gently fold the chickpeas and seasonings into the greens until everything is combined well.
Serve warm or cold.

Garlicky Roasted Potato Salad 

serves 3-4 (food52.com) A couple reviewers tossed in some chopped greens, maybe add a handful or two of the greens mix in this week’s bag.

  • 1 l pound potatoes

  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil

  • 1 ¼ tsp. salt

  • ½ tsp. black pepper

  • 4 cloves of garlic or less, depending on taste, finely chopped

  • 4 Tbsp. mayonnaise

  • 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut potatoes in half or quarters into a bowl.  Add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil, ¾ tsp. salt and the pepper.  Mix and put on a baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake the potatoes for about 40 minutes, flipping once or twice during baking.  Make sure they turn a nice golden brown.  Take out of the oven and allow to cool.  In a bowl combine ½ tsp. salt, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, chopped garlic, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard.  Mix and pour over potatoes.

Oven-Baked Ratatouille

10 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, rosemary, or savory leaves
2 large onions, thinly sliced
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 large eggplant, sliced 1⁄2 inch thick
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, basil, or chervil leaves for garnish
4 red or yellow bell peppers, stemmed,seeded and sliced in 3-4 pieces each
1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Peel and cut each garlic clove in half.
3. In a casserole, make a layer of onion, follwed by one of the eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, salt, pepper, and garlic cloves. Repeat. Drizzle the ratatouille with the olive oil and place in the oven. Bake for about an hour, pressing down on the vegetables occasionally, until they are all completely tender. Garnish and serve, hot or at room temperature.

Pesto

Following is a basic pesto recipe made with basil. Adjust the ingredients to your taste.

Pesto is most often served over warm pasta but can also be added to potatoes, used as a pizza sauce – top with fresh tomatoes and some parmesan cheese – or spread some on a sandwich. It’s easiest to make using a food processor. Add oil to get the texture you like and, if you’re storing it in the refrigerator rather than using it immediately, drizzle some olive oil on the top so that the pesto retains its color. Pesto can be frozen – most people say to leave out the cheese and add it when you want to use it. I freeze it in ice cube trays and once frozen, put the cubes in zip lock bags.

2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1-4 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup pine nuts or walnuts (try other nuts if you like)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼- ½ cup olive oil

Place basil, garlic, salt, nuts, cheese and about ½ the oil in a food processor. Pulse until it’s nicely blended. Add additional oil in a stream until you have the consistency you want.

Red Bean Stew

from New York Times, Martha Rose Shulman via Laura Murphy’s farmshareseasontumblr.com. Feel free to add more veggies!
1 pound (2 1/4 cups) red beans, washed, picked over and soaked for 6 hours or overnight in 2 quarts water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium or large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large or 2 small green bell peppers, cut in small dice
2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
Salt
1 teaspoon oregano
Pinch of cayenne
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon sugar
Freshly ground pepper
½ cup minced fresh parsley, or a combination of parsley and dill
½ cup drained yogurt for topping

1. Drain the beans through a strainer set over a bowl. Place the beans in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Measure the soaking water in the bowl, and add enough water to it to measure 2 1/2 quarts. Add this to the pot with the beans, turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle boil. Skim off any foam and/or bean skins.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the onions, carrots and peppers. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add 2 of the garlic cloves and continue to cook for another minute or so, until the garlic is fragrant. Season to taste with salt, add another tablespoon of oil and add the paprika. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes, until the vegetables are well coated with paprika and the mixture is aromatic. Add a ladleful of simmering water from the beans to the pan, stir with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan to deglaze, then stir this mixture into the beans. Add the tomato paste and bay leaf, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 1 hour.
3. Add the oregano, the remaining garlic cloves, salt to taste, cayenne, vinegar and sugar, and continue to simmer for another hour. The beans should be thoroughly tender and the broth thick and fragrant. Taste and adjust salt, and add more cayenne if desired. For a thicker stew, strain out 1 heaped cup of beans with a little liquid and purée. Stir back into the stew. 4. Just before serving, stir in the parsley. Serve over noodles or thick slices of country bread, topping each portion with a large dollop of drained yogurt.

Roasted Vegetable Salad

This recipe can be used with a mixture of vegetables that sounds good to you. The trick is to cut the vegetables in varying thicknesses based on how long they will take to roast since you’ll want them to all get done at the same time. Carrots or potatoes should be sliced thinner than summer squash or egg plant, for example.
Preheat oven to 425.
10 cups or so of fresh vegetables chopped for even cooking
possibilities include, but are not limited to potatoes, eggplant, onions, garlic, summer
squash, green beans, peppers, fennel, carrots, garlic.
Spread on a baking pan and toss with ¼ cup olive oil and sprinkle with salt – kosher salt, if you have some. Bake for 20 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through, stirring occasionally.
Let the vegetables cool.
Slice 2 cups of cherry tomatoes in half and toss with the vegetables along with 3 oz. of feta cheese and a vinaigrette dressing

Vinaigrette Dressing:
1 Tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, pressed
½ teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons olive oil
fresh herbs – try basil, thyme, oregano to taste
Pepper to taste
The vegetables would also be good served over pasta or rice or topping a pizza.

Snap Peas with Garlic Scapes

1 tablespoon butter
3 garlic scapes cut in 1” pieces
4 cups snap peas, left whole, with strings and tips removed
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons vegetable broth or water

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the scapes and sauté 2-3 minutes. Add the peas, sprinkle with sale, and stir to coat with butter. Add liquid to the pan, cover, and cook for 3 or 4 minutes more or until peas are barely tender-crisp and still bright green. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Summer Sauce

John Gifford shared recipe many years ago.
2-1/2 lbs tomatoes, seeded and chopped – skinned if you’re ambitious
6 Tablespoons olive oil
½ Tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ teaspoons sugar
Put all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Allow to stand at room temperature for at least two hours, then season and toss with hot pasta.