How to Use Garlic Scapes

If you’ve been to a farmer’s market in the past few weeks, you may have seen tangled bunches of green stalks bundled together for sale. These are the unbloomed flowers of the garlic plant and the long shoots are called “scapes.” They are generally harvested off the plant before they bloom so that the plant can channel all the energy it can into the bulb underground. They have a much milder and sweet garlic flavor than a clove of garlic, and can be eaten raw or cooked. I planted garlic in the fall and just noticed the scapes shooting out of the plant leaves a week ago, so I clipped them off to store in a zipped bag in the fridge. Here are some ideas for cooking with scapes.

1. Sautée chopped scapes in butter and fold into scrambled eggs

2. Chop long lengths of scapes and add to a crudité platter

3. Dice scapes into rounds to add a garlic profile to stir fry

4. Chop finely, mix with room temperature butter, and refrigerate for a flavored butter

5. Roast 6″ lengths drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper to enjoy as a side

6. Add to pesto by substituting for some or all of your preferred greens in any recipe

7. Substitute for garlic in hummus

8. Blend and whisk into a vinaigrette or green goddess salad dressing

9. Infuse olive oil by heating in a heavy pan over medium-high, adding scapes and any other herbs (rosemary!) and then allow to steep a few hours before removing