While I have not yet spied any scapes at the greenmarkets, I was lucky enough to find the at the Park Slope Food Coop, arriving from Lancaster, PA. Without question or a plan I snatched up a handful. If you’ve been reading my blog, you’re already well aware of my love affair with garlic scapes. I could go on and on, but I won’t. There’s no need to bore you. Just know they have a very special place in my heart. I practically count down the days until they arrive at the market. Most commonly I saute them with something or make a scape and whatever pesto. But this time I was feeling roasty.
I’ve been on a roasted garlic kick lately. I know, really, in the middle of the summer? Even though my kitchen is AC free, I’ve still never been good at working with the weather to cook. Sure I eat a lot of fresh veggies and raw stuff during the hot months, but I’ll also experience the uncontrollable need to braise something or can tomatoes for 8 hours straight. On the hottest day of the year, of course. You can actually see the spike in my electric bill on that day. My kitchen turns into a 90° eat in oven and the rest of my rooms run a freezing 65° so I have someplace to escape to.
Roasted garlic turns mellow and practically sweet. I roast the bulbs whole, then press out the roasted cloves and spread it on bread like butter. Considering garlic scapes are already a bit milder than a full clove, I was curious to see what effect roasting would have. It was a bit like having roasted cauliflower or Brussels sprouts, just garlic flavored. The scapes mellowed to a sweet taste and the woody stalks softened to a chewy, almost crunchy texture. Making them was the easy part. Deciding what to do with them wasn’t as so. Since I didn’t really have a plan, I figured why not throw them on everything! From burgers, to chopped veggie salads to omelets or just eaten by the handful. I can personally attest to its success in most any dish.
In their raw form, so perfectly curly!
Roasted Garlic Scapes
- Generous bunch of garlic scapes, sliced into 1-inch pieces
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil, depending how many scapes you have
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 425°F. In a ziplock bag toss scape slices, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread onto a rimmed backing sheet and roast for 25 minutes, tossing occasionally, until browned and crisp. Enjoy with most anything that needs some garlic favor or a bit of texture.
Amazing burger topping
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Brooklyn Locavore 
You know my love for all things roasted…. I’ll be keeping an eye at our market for these! I also “throw temperature to wind” when I really want to bake/roast/cook something that I know will heat up the place. It’s worth it sometimes!
I also figure that by turning my kitchen into a sauna, it helps melt pounds away, allowing me to indulge more! ….you can justify anything for food.
I’m so glad you found me. I have been enjoying several of your food ideas. I have a ton of scapes growing at this very moment on my garlic crop and was planning on making a pesto with them. Now I think I will have to try the roasted scapes or the white bean and scape dip.
A side note: My dandelion mead has quit bubbling. I will siphon it into another container to settle and clarify. If I try some (who am I kidding, I’l try some) I’ll give you a status update.
And please take care with the storm Andrea that should be close to upon you any time now.
I made this blog the other day. I have family in Yonkers. They have a summer house on Long Island Sound that gets hammered every year.
http://breakingurbanground.com/?p=1007
I love garlic scape pesto, but it’s not for the faint of heart. I generally use half scapes / half basil. My husband things it’s too intense. I’m pretty worried about my dandelion wine. I moved it to a new container and siphoned off the residue at the bottom, but it doesn’t smell all that great. Like bad bathtub wine. I haven’t braved tasting it yet, perhaps the next batch.
I would never have thought of roasting garlic scapes. But first, I love almost anything roasted. Second, you have succeeded in convincing me. Now I want to try it! 🙂
Haha, I love pushing people to try new foods! I’m with you, also a huge fan of most anything roasted so I figured why not? I bought some more at the market today and this time plan to roast and use on pizza 🙂
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I’ve never eaten garlic scapes (I didn’t even know there was such a thing!). They sound delicious though, particularly when seeing your picture with the hamburger! Mmm. I love roasting garlic also. It’s winter at the moment and I’m throwing a few cloves in the oven daily in the hope that it’ll ward off colds and flus (I love just squishing the soft roasted centre out of the peel and adding it to mashed potatoes. Yum). Thanks for this recipe. I’ll have to look out for some garlic scapes!
The first time I got them in my CSA pickup I had no idea what to do. They’re actually the tall stalks that grow out of a garlic bulb before the bulb actually forms. I LOVE roasted garlic. In mashed potatoes, or my latest thing has been to cut the bulb, rub olive oil in it, wrap it in foil and bake. Then I squeeze it out and spread it on bread, or just eat it by the forkful!
These look delicious! We use to get a lot of them at the market where I use to live. None so far at my current market. I will have to shop around so I can find some and try roasting them. Thanks for the post!
Thanks! I roasted some the other day and stuck them in boxed mac & cheese. They’re pretty much good with everything. The first week I got scapes, I felt like I stumbled on a hidden supply, but since then they’ve taken over the markets. You should see some soon!
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If you never tried them…yep they are great. They are in season now. If you’re in New Jersey the farm down the road from me in Branchburg is picking them this week. Call them at 908-642-1387. They are selling at 8 a pound and if you mention my name, Grant he will sell at $6 a pound