EverGreen Farm Recipes

Mashed Turnips with Bacon and Garlic

From Workshare Carol

"Better than mashed potatoes - and I love mashed potatoes!!"

Mashed turnips with bacon and garlic

Trim 8 to 10 Japanese turnips. Boil in water until tender - about 10 minutes. Drain and then mash until smooth.

Dice 2 garlic cloves (or can use 3 garlic scapes). The scapes add a great color to the dish.

Dice 2 strips of bacon, add the garlic, salt and pepper to taste and sautee until bacon is crispy. Drain off all but about 2 TBSPs bacon grease. Add the mashed turnips and heat for a couple of minutes if needed to bring up to serving temp.

**Tara's note:  Could sautee the turnip greens in a little left over bacon grease and serve on the side. 

 

Garlic Scape and Pistachio Pesto

Originally from a Here & Now (NPR) Radio segment entitled "Turning Fresh Herbs Into Simple Summer Sauces" on July 18, 2014. 

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:
4 ounces garlic scapes, about 14 large scapes
1 cup olive oil, plus about 1 1/2 tablespoons (*We have only been using 1/2 cup*)
1/2 cup shelled salted pistachios (*also good with walnuts*)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (easy on the salt since the nuts are salted) (*We omit any extra seasonings when making with salted pistachios*)
1/2 packed cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions:
Place the scapes in the container of a food processor and pulse about 10 times, until finely chopped. Add the 1 cup oil and the pistachios and pulse until thick and chunky. Season to taste. Add the cheese and stir.

Place the pesto in a 2 cup glass jar and cover the top of the pesto with the 1 1/2 tablespoon of oil to keep it from discoloring. Seal tightly and refrigerate.

We made multiple batches of this pesto, putting a generous 1 cup scoop into freezer bags to enjoy later.  It stores well in these baggies, even in the fridge as we are eating it over a week's time (no problems turning brow).

Shain made this pizza using the pesto as the base sauce with artichoke hearts, tomatoes and Parmesan cheese.  Simple and delicious!

Link to the original source for this recipe here.  Posting to our website to make it easier to find and if the link stops working.

Added 21 July 2015 - Photo from CSA member Sharolyn.  Pizza made with the garlic scape pesto, roasted yellow peppers, and marinated chicken. 

Garlic Scape Salad Dressing

From Linda, one of our long time CSA members.

Garlic Scape Salad Dressing  (from about.com)

Yield: 1 Cup

Ingredients:

• 2 garlic scapes, coarsely chopped
• 2 green onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard or similar brown mustard
• 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• dash salt
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

In a blender, combine the garlic scapes, onions, honey, mustard, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. With blender on low, slowly add the olive oil until well blended.

Makes 1 cup.

Garlic Scape and Almond Pesto

from the blog In the Kitchen and On the Road with Dorie

Makes about 1 cup

10 garlic scapes, finely chopped

1/3 to 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (to taste and texture)

1/3 cup slivered almonds (you could toast them lightly, if you'd like)

About 1/2 cup olive oil

Sea salt

Put the scapes, 1/3 cup of the cheese, almonds and half the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor (or use a blender or a mortar and pestle).  Whir to chop and blend all the ingredients and then add the remainder of the oil and, if you want, more cheese.  If you like the texture, stop; if you'd like it a little thinner, add some more oil.  Season with salt.

If you're not going to use the pesto immediately, press a piece of plastic against the surface to keep it from oxidizing. The pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days or packed airtight and frozen for a couple of months.

Garlic Ginger Colcannon

Recipe provided by Leveda, an EverGreen Farm CSA member.

* 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
* 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
* 1 onion, finely chopped
* 4 garlic cloves, minced, or a bunch of garlic scapes
* Juice of lemon
* 4 cups packed spinach, chopped
* 1/4 cup raw cashews
* 3/4 teaspoon ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon paprika
* 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/8 teaspoon cumin
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
* Sprinkle peppercorns and salt to taste

*Directions:*

1. Place the chopped sweet potatoes in a medium sized pot and cover them with water. Cover. Bring the water to a boil over high heat.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer the potatoes partially covered for 10 to 30 minutes, or until fork tender. (Note that the smaller the pieces of potato are, the faster they will cook.)

3. Drain the potatoes in a colander and return to the pot.

4. Using a hand-held blender puree the potatoes until smooth (a potato masher may also be used). Set potatoes aside.

5. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic and/or garlic scapes in the oil for a few minutes, or until translucent.

6. Add spinach and lemon juice to the skilled. Cook until spinach has wilted. Set aside.

7. In a coffee grinder or blender, grind the cashews into a smooth flour.

8. Add the cashews, spinach mixture and seasonings into the sweet potato puree and stir. Season to taste with the peppercorns and salt.

Makes 4 servings.

Pickled Garlic Scapes

I saw several recipes for pickled garlic scapes on the internet.  They are all similar to this one, with a few adding a variety of herbs for seasoning.

 1       pound or more of scapes, whole

 3       cups vinegar

 5       cups water

 ¼       cup kosher salt

 1       tbsp curry powder in each quart jar (if desired)

 other herbs to taste: basil & oregano are very good plus chopped cayenne or jalapeno pepper to taste

 
Boil the water, vinegar & salt solution. Pack hot jars with whole scapes, then curry powder, and then the brine. Put on lids, place in a hot water canner and boil for 45 minutes. Leave at least 2 weeks before    serving to get best flavor. Makes 3 quarts

Here's another pickled garlic scape recipe from The Deliberate Agrarian Blog.

The recipe we use for making pickled scapes is the Dilly Beans recipe found in the Ball Blue Book.

2 pounds green beans (substitute garlic scapes)
1/4 cup canning salt
2-1/2 cups vinegar
2-1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, divided
4 cloves garlic, divided
4 heads dill, divided

Trim ends off green beans. Combine salt, vinegar and water in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Pack beans lengthwise into hot jars, leaving 1/4” headspace. Add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 clove garlic, and 1 head dill to each pint. Ladle hot liquid over beans, leaving ¼” headspace Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints and quarts 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Yield: about four pints.

We modified the recipe a bit. For example, we left out the garlic cloves. And since our dill is not yet ready to use, we put a tsp of dill seed in each pint jar.

In all, we canned 14 pints of pickled scapes. As an experiment, we packed one quart jar with curly pieces from higher up the stem (the tougher end) to see how they would turn out. I also put in a couple of the flower pod ends. As I’m writing this, James opened the quart jar and we’ve been sampling the pieces. They’re good. So I guess we could have canned a lot more of the scapes than we did. The flower heads are, however, not tender and I would never try pickling them again.

  

Garlic Scape Pesto/Hummus Dip

I found this recipe on a website for Clagette Farm in the Washington D.C. area.  It was provided to them by a CSA member, Mark Lindley in 2005.

Garlic Scape Pesto / Hummus Dip was a huge hit at a party this past Sunday. Note that only a couple recipes I found on the Internet point out that you should cut off the scapes below the bulge where the flower bud begins. Use the tops as decorations for the pesto / hummus dip. In the recipe certain ingredients are not essential but enhance the result, making it smoother, richer or both. You may omit the spinach or pine nuts, for example, if you don't have them, but they are nice touches.

INGREDIENTS
1-2 cups of garlic scapes
1-1 1/2 lemons
1 can chickpeas, drained.
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1-2 teaspoons salt
2-3 cups "tender" greens such as spinach, arugula, spicy greens mix
2-3 tablespoons sesame tahini
1 cup or more finely grated parmesan or romano cheese
1 cup pine nuts

PROCEDURE
Remove tops from 1-2 cups of scapes and reserve as decorations; cut in 2 in. lengths. Process with 1/2 - 1 cup olive oil in food processor for 2-3 min. until finely chopped.

Add drained chickpeas.
Add 2-3 tablespoons sesame tahini.
Add juice of 1 - 1 1/2 lemons, seeds removed.
Add 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste. You (I) want it to have an edge, but not to be overtly "Hot."
Add 1-2 teaspoons salt - I use kosher, but any will do. Salt to taste, not too much.
Process until chickpeas are finely ground.

You may want to taste at this point to see if more cayenne is needed. Note that the sauce will "heat up" as it sits.

Add 2-3 cups spinach or spicy greens or arugula, whatever you have, for more green color and to lighten the hummus. Process until finely ground and well integrated in sauce.

I also added 1 cup finely grated parmesan and a cup or so of pine nuts, also all ground in for another minute or two.

You want the sauce to be smooth for dipping. The raw scapes resist chopping so they require a good deal of processing. The end result will still have a little texture from the scapes and the pine nuts - a good thing!

As a dip, finish by putting dip in a bowl and dribbling fine extra virgin olive oil over it. As a future revision I would add some lightly toasted cumin seed: heat 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed in a skillet until it begins to be aromatic; grind it coarsely in a mortar; mix 1/2 in the dip. Sprinkle the remainder over the top.

This sauce / dip could as well be used as a pasta dressing or over a piece of fish to be baked. In this instance I served it as a dip in a bowl with peeled raw kohlrabi sliced thin and cut in half as chips. It got rave reviews.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Taken from whatgeekseat.com

My favorite thing to do with them is to make garlic scape pesto. It is super easy to make and refrigerates well for several weeks in a well sealed jar. I also plan on popping some into the freezer to top off my winter soups. I use this pesto on brushetta, pasta, eggs, foccacia, and just about anything I grill like shrimp, salmon, chicken. It’s also fabulous added to mayonnaise and smeared on a big roast beef sandwich. Now I’m hungry!!!

Garlic scape pesto

1 pound garlic scapes
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Olive oil (about 1/2 to 1 cup)
Pine nuts if available

Chop the garlic scapes into 3 inch lengths. Put it int he food processor and process until pureed. Add the parmesan and pine nuts and process until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil as the food processor runs and continue until all the oil is combined into the garlic. Store in an air-tight jar in the refrigerator.

Garlic Scapes

What are garlic scapes?

"Scapes" are the flower stalks found on members of the Allium family (onions, leeks, chives, and garlic).  Garlic scapes curl upward as they grown, ultimately straighten, and then grow little seed-like bulbs. When garlic scapes are still in full curl, they are tender and delicious.  They provide subtle garlic flavor (but without the garlic "bite") and cruchiness if added to salads and soups.  They cook well in stir fries, and can be processed in vinegars, as pickles, or into a green "pesto" sauce.  This pesto is delicious spread on pizzas or sandwiches.  Garlic scapes are only available for a few weeks of the year, so enjoy them while you can.

Fried Scapes (from dakotagarlic.com)

Cut scapes to green bean size and saute them in butter and salt for 6 to 8 minutes.  During the last minute of cooking add about 1 teaspoon of balsalmic vinegar.

Garlic Scape Pesto (from maryjanesfarm.com/simplymj)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespons fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 pound garlic scapes
1/2 cup olive oil
salt to taste

Puree scapes and olive oil in a food processor until smooth.  Stir in Parmesan and lime or lemon juice and season to taste.  Serve on bread, crackers or pasta.

I have seen many variations to this recipe.  Many omit the juice and will add nuts (like pine nuts or walnuts).

Garlic Scapes

Scapes are the flower stalks on members of the Allium family (onions, leeks, chives, and garlic). Garlic scapes, which only appear on the finest hardneck garlic varieties, curl upward as they grow little seed like bulbs. Garlic producers remove the scapes to enhance bulb development.

When garlic scapes are sill in full curl, they are tender and delicious. They provide a subtle garlic flavor and crunchiness if added to salads and soups, they cook well in stir fries, and can be processed in vinegars, as pickles, or into green “pesto” sauce.

Scapes will last for weeks if kept in a brown paper bag in the refrigerator. They also freeze well when chopped and placed in containers. Do not wash when freezing.

These young curling flower stalks are tender, yet crunchy, with a subtle garlic flavor, but without the garlic “bite.” Garlic scapes are a delicacy in some Asian cuisines and are available occasionally at gourmet restaurants, as well as local farmers’ markets.

General Cooking tips: Remove the entire stalk tip above the pod [umbel] before cooking. Don’t overcook, they tend to get tough and/or lose their flavor. Try starting simple, to learn how much cooking is enough and how much is too much by sautéing the scapes in a little olive oil at medium heat, adding salt and pepper to taste. The end result should be a side dish that is elegant and delightfully tasty. Garlic spears can almost by used like asparagus. They are very well suited for stir-fries.

Garlic Scape Ideas:

• A scape is a wonderful substitute for fresh garlic.
• Chop fine and sprinkle it over green pasta or potato salad.
• Roast scapes with potatoes, cut up and drizzled with olive oil (roast at 400 degrees for half an hour or so).
• Cut them one-half inch long, sauté them, and serve them as a side dish.
• Brush scapes with olive oil and grill them in a veggie basket until they’re crispy.
• Add sliced scapes to any stir-fry recipe.
• Chop and add to softened cream cheese or goat cheese.

Garlic Scape Pesto (this pesto spread is delicious on pizzas or sandwiches)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 lb. scapes
1/2-cup olive oil
Salt to taste

Puree scapes and olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Stir in Parmesan and lime or lemon juice and season to taste, Serve on bread, crackers or pasta.

Spinach and Garlic Scape Pesto

3 cups of packed fresh spinach leaves
1/2-cup parsley
2/3-cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2-cup walnuts
8 chopped garlic scapes
2 tbsp. basil
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Process until smooth.  While motor is running, drizzle in oil.  Makes 2 cups.

Mashed Potatoes with Garlic Scapes

2 1/2 lb. of potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” pieces.
1/2 stick butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped scapes
1/4-cup cream (or more)

Cook potatoes until very tender. Drain and return to pot. Over medium high heat, melt butter with olive oil in a small skillet. Add scapes and sauté about 5 minutes. Add to potatoes and mash. Gradually add milk while stirring. Season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Garlic Scapes

Take the scapes and put them in a lightly oiled roasting pan, top with Kosher or Sea Salt. Put the loaded and covered pan in an oven heated to 425 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Cook until they begin to brown.

Grilled Garlic Scapes

1 lb. of garlic scapes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Cut scapes into pieces about 2 inches long and place onto a large sheet of foil wrap. Sprinkle liberally with olive oil; season to taste with salt and pepper. Bundle up the foil and grill for about ten minutes or until soft and golden.

Lemon Scented Pasta with Garlic Scapes and Veggies

1/3 box of spaghetti
5 or 6 garlic scapes sliced thinly
6 Sun dried tomato halves sliced thinly
1 cup of fresh corn
1 cup of flat leaf parsley
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
1 cup of chicken stock

Cook the spaghetti until al dente and set aside. Sautee scapes and tomatoes till fragrant. Then add the corn, parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Simmer lightly. Turn up the heat a little, add the chicken stock and pasta, and toss everything to coat. Continue tossing until the sauce is slightly thickened. Serve garnished with remaining Parsley.