garlic scapes

I had to be away from the garden last week and when I returned it seemed as though someone had pushed the UP button. UP went the asparagus. UP went the tomatoes. Houston, we have liftoff.

Last evening I went out and harvested the garlic scapes. This past spring I had run across a recipe in Mother Earth News and with the encouragement of my house guests, Harry Judy and Elaine, we cooked it up last evening. It involves two things that are new to me. One is carmelizing olive oil and brown sugar, and the other is haloumi cheese. Haloumi is a cheese from Cyprus that you grill and then chop into small dice.

I had Elaine at the computer reading from the recipe and Judy was my sous chef. Every now and then one of us would shout out in a Julia Child’s accent “More GIN!” to gales of laughter.

I’m not sure what to say about the recipe. It is very Greek tasting … as though it has olives in it but it doesn’t. I think it would go better with seafood or chicken than it did with flank steak. I’d cook it again, I think. So here it is.

Garlic Scapes

2 TBS EVO
2 TBS dark brown sugar
8 oz young garlic scapes
1 ½ cups coarsely chopped tomatoes
¾ cup white wine
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp salt
I TBS parsley chopped
¼ cup grilled haloumi cheese cut into very small dice

Heat the oil in a broad sauté pan and add sugar. Stir to caramelize the sugar for about 2-3 minutes and add the scapes. Cover and sauté over a medium high heat for no more than 3 minutes occasionally shaking the pan to prevent the scapes from scorching. After three minutes, add the chopped tomatoes and wine. Stir the pan and then cover and reduce the heat to low. Continue cooking 5-6 minutes or until the scapes are tender but not soft. Season and then add the parsley and halouimi and serve at room temperature

NOTE: Haloumi cheese is made in Cyprus. It can be sliced or grilled or fried in skillet. Other salty cheeses can be substituted

From a recipe in Mother Earth News