Scapes, the immature flowering stalks of plants like garlic, are my favorite “adventurous” vegetable. One day when I wasn’t paying quite enough attention to my stir-fry, I discovered something wonderful – caramelized garlic scapes! With enough time to cook, garlic scapes will wrinkle up and begin to brown and their garlic flavor will mellow and sweeten. Caramelized garlic scapes go well with onions and greens and I often make this with bacon, using the bacon fat for sautéing, and eat it alongside grilled burgers or chicken. It also makes a great frittata (see below for directions). This is not a fussy recipe and how much of each vegetable you use depends largely on your preferences (I tend to go overboard on the scapes). – Penelope
Ingredients
Butter, oil, or other cooking fat for sautéing
1 small onion, chopped
A bunch of garlic scapes, chopped into roughly inch-long segments
A bunch of chard (leaves only or leaves and stalks)
Seasonings to taste (parsley, balsamic vinegar, or just salt and pepper are my favorites)
Directions
1. In a frying pan (oven safe if you are making frittata), sauté onions and garlic scapes until the scapes are wrinkled, onions are translucent, and both are beginning to caramelize. If you like your onions less well done, cook the scapes alone for a few minutes before adding the onions.
2. Add the chard and sauté until wilted.
3. Add any other seasonings and cook until most of the excess water has evaporated.
4. Enjoy!
To make into Frittata:
8 eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese, chevre or other soft or grated cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/8 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
6. Lightly beat the eggs, cheese, salt and pepper and pour into the still hot vegetable pan with the cooked veggies
7. Cook until the edges start to brown then sprinkle with parmesan and bake in the oven until cooked through. Slice and serve immediately or put in the fridge for later!