Garlic Scapes, Pasta, & Garlic Bread

I was so excited to do this recipe all day today, and this is the dish that inspired me to start writing here. Garlic scapes. These were something we got in a box of produce that John came home with one day, and I am so happy he did! At first I had no idea what to do with them and so I went to the internet to find a recipe but all I could find were pesto and stuff like that. Then, I thought to myself hmm..garlic, fresh tomatoes...let's marry these two things! I did them with some pasta and garlic bread tonight.

Let's start with the bread. It's simple.

Here is the bread I used today. I have done my own bread, but I didn't have time to bake today because I had a bunch of errands to run!

To make the garlic spread you will need:

2 tbsp. softened butter (You could use olive oil or a Vegan butter spread)

2 tsp. Garlic powder

1 tsp. Oregano

½ tsp. Parsley

½ tsp. Basil

½ tsp. Italian seasoning, to even it out

Cut the bread lengthwise,

This is an Olive-Rosemary bread, just FYI. That's not mold!

Spread your Garlic butter mixture all over it,

And bake it just like that, at 425°F for about 15 minutes. I have a pizza stone, so I just bake it directly on that.

Next, I just did simple spaghetti.

, 

Of course, this is the prettiest dish with the nicest presentation, and I only take one picture without checking it first!

Now, like I said I had a lot of errands today so I was short on time and just used a jar of sauce but it was, and I've read the ingredients, so I know there's not preservatives or chemicals in it. And that makes me happy. It's also Newman's Own, so we know it's really, really delicious.

Phew. Now, we can move on to the main event. Do you like garlic? Do you like roasted garlic? I don't know how someone could ever answer no to that. I really, really don't. These are my newest favorite food of the summer, and I never want them to be out of season so I can just eat them every day of my life. Seriously. Garlic scapes are the immature flower stalks that are removed so the plant will focus its growth in the bulb rather than the flower. And, that's really good news for us.

So, take a big bunch of these delicious things

And prepare them much like Asparagus.

 As you can see, there is the stalk end, and the flower end. Bend it at the stalk end until it snaps the tough area off, naturally (just like Asparagus)

(I actually use two hands for this, but needed one for demonstration-picture-taking)

See that?

All right. Now we can trim off the end so it's clean, and trim off any brown on the flower end. Then, cut it to make 2 or 3 inch pieces. Whatever you like.

Wash 'em.

Dry them, and put them in a deep sided pan with some olive oil and a tiny bit of salt & pepper.

Let them cook, and chop up your tomatoes.

This is what it will look like when you add the tomatoes. The scapes will be wilted and browned slightly

Now, add a good amount of salt & pepper, so the tomatoes give up their water and make a broth, along with the zest & juice of a lemon. Cover and cook on low or med-low basically for as long as it takes you to cook whatever else you're having. For me, it's typically 20-30 minutes. 20 on med-low, 30 on low.

And this is what it looks like

I can't even begin to adequately describe how good this is. To me, it tastes like buttery, roasted garlic smothered in marinara. Yummmmmmm.

Garlic Scapes With Tomatoes

Ingredients

• Large bunch Garlic Scapes
• 4 medium or large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 Lemon, juice and zest
• 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. Pepper

Method

1. Trim, cut, wash, & dry scapes.
2. Cook scapes in olive oil over medium heat, in a deep-sided pan for about 5 minutes, until your tomatoes are chopped and ready to go.
3. Chop tomatoes.
4. Add tomatoes, salt & pepper, and Lemon juice/zest when scapes are wilted and slightly browned. 
5. Cover and lower heat to medium-low or low. Allow to simmer (covered) about 20 minutes on medium-low, 30 minutes on low until tomatoes have cooked down and created a broth.

Have good rest of the week! The end is in sight!

©The Village Farmhouse | Amy Heck 2012. Please do not steal my images.