Garlic Scapes

Garlic Scapes
Scapes grow from hardneck garlic bulbs, and farmers trim them because they draw energy away from the forming bulbs. They taste sweet, like a chive or scallion with a milder but familiar garlicky zing. Finely sliced, scapes can be used just the same as garlic cloves: sautéed with vegetables, puréed into pesto and hummus, roasted with meats and vegetables.
To store and prep your scapes:
• Scapes couldn't be more low-maintenance. They rarely have a speck of dirt on them, and they will keep for weeks (months!) tucked in a bag in your vegetable drawer.
• Before using them, cut off the stringy, fibrous tip from the flower end, and trim off the very bottom of the stem.
More ideas for cooking your scapes:
• Use scapes just as you would garlic, finely chopped (though not necessarily minced as you typically would with garlic) and sautéed in butter or olive oil. Make a summery sauté with scapes, zucchini, onions, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes -- any of your favorite summer vegetables. Top pizza with sautéed scapes and the garlicky olive oil you sautéed them in.
• Add scapes to your scrambled eggs: finely chop one garlic scape; sauté over low heat in butter until slightly tender and scrape out of the pan; scramble two eggs in the pan with more butter if needed; add scapes back, plus a pinch of salt, and a small handful of grated cheese; season with lots of pepper and serve with toast.
• Purée the scapes raw and add to hummus, pesto, aioli, and mayonnaise.
• When scapes are steamed until tender, their resemblance to green beans is striking. Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil or butter. Lightly stir frying is also nice.
• Cut them into 6-inch lengths, and pickle them with spices (mustard seeds, peppercorns, fennel seed, cumin) and a vinegar-salt-sugar mix.
• Just as you would chives or scallions, finely chop scapes and bake them into savory biscuits, muffins, or scones.
• Scapes can be grilled but be careful: they quickly turn from brown and caramelized to burnt and inedible. Trim the ends of the scapes as described above. Toss scapes with olive oil and salt, and grill over high heat -- no more than 4 minutes total.
• Finally, because scapes are milder than garlic, they can be chopped and added raw to any salad or slaw.

From another source:

There's nothing better than returning from the farmers market to transform a bunch of garlic scapes into tempura-battered appetizer—complete with a sidecar of garlic aioli. This time of year, bags filled with the serpentine stems can be found everywhere at farmers' markets, and unlike many of the fleeting jewels of summer, garlic scapes are a bargain. 

Garlic scapes grow from hardneck garlic bulbs, and farmers trim them because they draw energy away from the forming bulbs. They taste sweet, like a chive or scallion, with a more mild—but familiar—garlicky zing. Finely sliced, scapes can be used just the same as garlic cloves, such as sautéed with vegetables, puréed into pesto and hummus, or roasted with meats and vegetables.

They also can be lightly battered and fried, which tempers their pungency, giving them almost a green bean quality, both in taste and texture. When fried, moreover, scapes become more than just a flavor enhancement—they can be the main show, too. A one-pound bag of scapes, trimmed into six-inch lengths and fried in small batches, will definitely feed a crowd.

How to Store Garlic Scapes

Scapes couldn't be more low-maintenance. They rarely have a speck of dirt on them, and they will keep for weeks (even months!) tucked in a bag in your vegetable drawer. Before using them, cut off the stringy, fibrous tip from the flower end, and trim off the very bottom of the stem.

How to Use Garlic Scapes

Use scapes just as you would garlic, finely chopped (though not necessarily minced as you typically would with garlic) and sautéed in butter or olive oil. Make a summary sauté with scapes, zucchini, onions, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes—any of your favorite summer vegetables. Come Friday night, why not top a pizza with sautéed scapes and the garlicky olive oil that you sautéed them in?

 

You can also treat garlic scapes as you would chives or scallions—finely chop them and use as a garnish, or fold them into the batter for savory biscuits, muffins, or scones, or even whisk them into an egg scramble. 

Purée the scapes raw and add to hummus, pesto, aioli, and mayonnaise. When scapes are steamed until tender, their resemblance to green beans is striking. Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil or butter.

Because garlic scapes have a relatively short season, one of the best ways to preserve their beauty is by trimming them and pickling them with spices (mustard seeds, peppercorns, fennel seed, cumin) and a vinegar-salt-sugar mix.

 

Tokyo Bekana

 Tokyo Bekana is a loose-headed, lightweight cabbage that is often mistaken for lettuce due to its similarities in flavor and appearance. The large leaves have a frilly consistency with ruffled edges and are green with prominent white veins spanning across the surface. Connected to the leaves, the narrow white stems are smooth, crunchy, and juicy, widening at the base. Tokyo Bekana is crisp and tender with a mild, sweet, and spinach-like flavor with mild pepper nuances.

 Tokyo Bekana cabbage is best suited for both raw and cooked applications such as sautéing, steaming, and stir-frying. The frilly green is mild, lacking in traditional cabbage flavors, and can be shredded and tossed into green salads, mixed into pasta dishes for added crispness, braised as a side dish, or sliced and added to soups. Tokyo Bekana cabbage can also be lightly stir-fried and mixed with cooked vegetables and meat, used as a lettuce wrap, or pickled into a sweet and spicy condiment. 

 

Chinese Greens

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large garlic clove, minced or pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
• 6-10 cups washed, stemmed and chopped bulky greens (cabbage, bok choy, or Chinese cabbage, spinach, beet greens, Tokyo Bekana)
• 1/4 cup Chinese rice wine
• 1 tablespoon vinegar or fresh lemon juice (optional)
• 1 teaspoon sugar or honey (optional)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce or tamari soy sauce

Directions

Heat the oil in a wok and add the garlic and ginger root.  Sauté very briefly.  Add the greens and toss to coat with oil.  Add the rice wine, vinegar or lemon juice, honey or sugar, fish sauce, and a splash of water.  Delicate greens (spinach and beet greens) will take about 1 minute.  Sauté bulky greens (cabbage, bok choy, Chinese cabbage) 5-10 minutes, or until tender.  If you use tamari soy sauce instead of fish sauce, add it just before serving.

Source: New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant

 

Provencal Tokyo Bekana

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoon chopped thyme
• 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
• 3 (3-by 1-inch) strips orange zest
• 3 pounds bok choy or Tokyo Bekana (2 to 3 heads), cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
• 1 pound tomatoes (3 medium), chopped
• 1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Heat oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté garlic with thyme, bay leaf, and zest until garlic is pale golden and mixture is very fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add Tokyo Bekana, tomatoes, olives, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until Tokyo Bekana is crisp-tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Discard bay leaf and stir in parsley.

Source: Gourmet