Green garlic

Despite the 95 ° temperatures here today, it's really still spring. Confirmation of this can be found at the local Farmer's Market, where all sorts of ephemeral produce has been showing up. Sunday morning, I picked up several heads of green garlic. This appears to come in thin versions that look like green onions and thicker versions with large bulbs that look more like good-sized leeks with fat, round bottoms. I ended up with the larger ones. For supper last night, I used a couple of them to make a simple vichyssoise that contained potatoes, broth, saffron, a little cream, and a good helping of the chopped green garlic. Each bowl got a few slices of seared scallop on top. This was really an excellent dish. The soup was great by itself but the scallops really put it over the top.

Tonight was a bit less successful. I made spaghetti with green garlic, pea shoots, and reggiano. The green garlic flavor came through a bit (although I don't think I put enough in) but the pea shoots were too timid to get through the cheese/garlic. It was good enough but a bit of a waste for the shoots. (OTOH, a big bag was only $1, so I can't complain too much about that part of it.) It did match very well with a Vignoles made by some guy named Howie.....

[Jenise]

This appears to come in thin versions that look like green onions and thicker versions with large bulbs that look more like good-sized leeks with fat, round bottoms....

I've never seen anything like this. Are you using the greens, like you would a leek, as well as the bulb end?

Whichever, your experimentation is admirable. The scallop garnish on the vichysoisse sounds divine--since you mention the heat, did you serve it cold?

You treat them like leeks, using the white and the light green parts. On the ones I had, I only used the upper half of the white part as the root end had a pithy core that extended up a ways.

The soup was served a bit cooler than cool room temp. I can't claim credit for the scallop idea, though. I used a vichyssoise recipe from Gourmet as a template and that was their garnish.

[Jenise]

The soup was served a bit cooler than cool room temp. I can't claim credit for the scallop idea, though. I used a vichyssoise recipe from Gourmet as a template and that was their garnish.

Well, it's a great idea no matter who thought of it. Sounds like a splendid hot day meal. Have you ventured into other vichysoisse-like soups? Asparagus factors in nicely. And perhaps the most interesting deviation I've done used sorrel. It's lemony sourness makes it particularly attractive as a cleansing first course.

Green garlic is a well known and well-beloved ingredient in many dishes of the Maghreb and the Mediterranean basin, making its way into anything as diverse in character as avgolemono sauce to lamb stews. A favorite as well for stuffing quails; made into a confiture and blended together with potato puree; and for soldiers (Bedouins, Israelis, Lebanese and Syrians) as a refreshing snack during training exercises. Best of all, super-cheap in the shuks (outdoor markets) from Istanbul to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to Amman)

Best
Rogov

Very interesting, Rogov - I had no idea it was so popular out there. It's rare and difficult to find here although not expensive.

Jenise - I haven't done much with cold potato soups but I'll be looking to do more in the future. The "sorrelized" version sounds interesting - I can see how the basic soup would make a good backdrop for a variety of ingredients.

I saw pea shoots at our Farmer's Market for the first time this year. I thought they were used for garnish rather than an ingredient in a dish. Another first this year are micro greens. I have been using them on our salads. Very nice and my first experience with them.

[Jenise]

Very interesting, Rogov - I had no idea it was so popular out there. It's rare and difficult to find here although not expensive.

Jenise - I haven't done much with cold potato soups but I'll be looking to do more in the future. The "sorrelized" version sounds interesting - I can see how the basic soup would make a good backdrop for a variety of ingredients.

It is. Not my idea by the way for the sorrel, but from one of America's great classic restaurants, The Inn at Little Washington.

I saw pea shoots at our Farmer's Market for the first time this year. I thought they were used for garnish rather than an ingredient in a dish. Another first this year are micro greens. I have been using them on our salads. Very nice and my first experience with them.

This was my first experience with the pea shoots. There are quite a few recipes out there that involve stir-frying them, which appears to be common in some Asian cultures. The ones I got looked a bit like some kind of mutant grass with a very mild pea flavor. I have a handful left and I think I'll probably saute them up just to see what they taste like with nothing added but a little salt.

[Jenise]

I saw pea shoots at our Farmer's Market for the first time this year. I thought they were used for garnish rather than an ingredient in a dish. Another first this year are micro greens. I have been using them on our salads. Very nice and my first experience with them.

This was my first experience with the pea shoots. There are quite a few recipes out there that involve stir-frying them, which appears to be common in some Asian cultures. The ones I got looked a bit like some kind of mutant grass with a very mild pea flavor. I have a handful left and I think I'll probably saute them up just to see what they taste like with nothing added but a little salt.

Pea shoots are nirvana, you'll love them. Very earthy. But "a handful" will cook up to about 2 tablespoons, and they're ready before you think they are. They're better before they wilt too much. I'll buy a bag the size of a small pillow to make enough for the two of us as a vegetable. They're also wonderful as bedding material for things like fried shrimp or breaded lemon chicken, Chinese style.

Oh, I love the idea of a bed of pea shoots under my perfectly cooked fish...maybe halibut. A side of fresh pineapple spears, sprinkled with brown sugar, grilled along with the fish! Perfect! Oh, and a sprinkle of fresh, chopped mint on the pineapple.

[Jenise]

Oh, I love the idea of a bed of pea shoots under my perfectly cooked fish...maybe halibut. A side of fresh pineapple spears, sprinkled with brown sugar, grilled along with the fish! Perfect! Oh, and a sprinkle of fresh, chopped mint on the pineapple.

That would be just splendid. Fish and pea-anything are a great combination.

Are those garlic scapes you're using? I can get those at my local farmer's market. They are wonderfully fresh.

Are those garlic scapes you're using? I can get those at my local farmer's market. They are wonderfully fresh.

I'm pretty sure that what I have is green garlic - immature stalks of garlic. I think scapes are a bit different from those (although I'm not positive about that). Mine look almost like spring onions, with stalks that look like leeks ending in rather large bulbs. They have a pronounced garlic flavor that's quite a bit milder than regular garlic.

Are those garlic scapes you're using? I can get those at my local farmer's market. They are wonderfully fresh.

I'm pretty sure that what I have is green garlic - immature stalks of garlic. I think scapes are a bit different from those (although I'm not positive about that). Mine look almost like spring onions, with stalks that look like leeks ending in rather large bulbs. They have a pronounced garlic flavor that's quite a bit milder than regular garlic.

Yes, that's a bit different from scapes, which are just the greens culled from the bulb, which remains below ground.

Mark Lipton

Yes that does sound different. I guess I've not seen green garlic.