I confess to a love-hate relationship with green onions, that ingredient that shows up so frequently in columnist Jan Roberts-Dominguez’s recipes and is the subject of this week’s A Fresh Approach.
The story goes that when my parents experimented with gardening when I was just a toddler, they could hardly keep my grubby little hands from grabbing the green onions, yanking them from the soil and munching the ends, roots — and dirt — still attached.
I must have quickly lost that lust for minerals and trace nutrients that some people claim causes kids to eat dirt clods. Or maybe green onions simply didn’t have the same appeal if they weren’t garden-fresh.
At any rate, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t painstakingly pick green-onion tops off a plate of nachos or spoon them from a bowl of egg flower soup. In recent years, however, I’ve developed an uneasy truce with green onions — acceptable if there isn’t too much of the dark-green part attached and, obviously, much more attractive if they’re from my own garden.
So it may seem a little strange that a green-onion look-alike is one of my new favorite ingredients when I can find it at the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market.
Garlic scapes resemble a scallion crossed with a garter snake. These curled green shoots grow out of garlic bulbs. Most growers chop them off to promote better growth of the bulbs, and they recently have become beloved of chefs and gourmets.
I found them for $1 a bunch at Runnymede Farm’s stand at last week’s Thursday market at the Medford Armory. Grower Teri White says she may have them one more week, so grab them while you can.
The easiest way to prepare scapes is to toss them with olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper, then put them on the grill for a few minutes, or until lightly browned and just tender.
Last week, I sauteed scapes with olive oil, then tossed them with fresh Wolf Creek Pasta Co. noodles and wild porcini mushrooms, also purchased at the market.
Cooking tames the pungency characteristic of garlic. If you’re like me and you love that garlicky zing, use them raw to spice up mayonnaise (delicious for chicken salad or dipping steamed artichokes). Or whip up a pesto, substituting the scapes for more traditional leafy herbs.
If you find the taste of raw scapes a bit bracing, you can take the edge off by blanching them in boiling water for about a minute. The scapes then should be dunked in ice water and dried before being added to the pesto.
The following recipe, courtesy of The Associated Press, is ready in 20 minutes.
Fettuccini With Garlic Scape Pesto
4 ounces garlic scapes, cut into 1- to 2-inch lengths (about 1 1/2 cups cut)
3 ounces goat cheese (about three-quarters of a 4-ounce log)
1/2 cup roasted cashews (not salted)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
9 ounces fresh pasta (such as fettuccini)
Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil.
While water heats, in a food processor combine the scapes, cheese, cashews, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pulse, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until mostly smooth and scapes are well chopped.
Add the pasta to boiling water and cooking according to package directions. Just before pasta is cooked, ladle out about 1/3 cup water. Add water to processor and pulse until well mixed.
Drain pasta, then return it to pan. Add pesto and toss well to coat.
Makes 4 servings.
