Garlic: The Gift That Keeps On Giving – Sautéed Garlic Scapes

I love growing garlic in my garden because it is the gift that keeps on giving. In early spring I can pick green garlic, whole immature plants that are similar to scallions, before the bulb forms into garlic cloves. July is the main harvest time when I pick the plants and have the freshest, best cloves of garlic ever. In the fall I plant a portion of my cured cloves to supply me with a crop the following July. But now it is early June and for just a week or two, it’s garlic scape season.

Garlic scapes are the immature flowers and supporting stems of hardneck varieties of garlic. They emerge in early June from the center of the plant and curl as they grow, like a pig’s tail with a pointy, undeveloped flower at the end. Gardeners harvest them so that the plants put their energy into forming large underground bulbs rather than a flower. But there are other benefits to cutting the scapes as well. When cooked, they have a mild garlic flavor; they definitely taste of garlic, but in a gentle way, without the bite of garlic that most of us are used to.

There is garlic scape pesto and pickles and soup. But my favorite garlic scape dishes are simpler; I grill them, trimmed of the flower, and brushed with a little olive oil and kosher salt, or chop them into bite-size pieces and sauté them in a pan as described below. They make an excellent side dish, one that will surprise and intrigue your dinner guests.

But unless you know someone who grows garlic or you have a well-stocked farmer’s market in your neighborhood, garlic scapes are hard to come by. They are only available for a week or two, in early June here on Long Island, and they get woody and fibrous if you wait too long to harvest them. While the season is short, I enjoy this short burst of scapes before the main attraction comes when I harvest the plants for their bulbs in July.

Sautéed Garlic Scapes

4 servings, 15 minutes

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 bunch garlic scapes, trimmed of the pointy flower and cut into 1½-inch pieces

½ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Add the olive oil to a medium skillet and heat it on medium until the oil shimmers.
2. Add the garlic scapes and cook tossing and turning until they are slightly tender, making sure they do not burn. A slight char is great, but burning would not work so well. If they are starting to burn before they are tender, add a tablespoon or two of water to steam them. The water will boil off quickly while it steams the garlic scapes, leaving the oil behind to continue the sautéing. Add more water as needed until they are just tender.
3. As they finish cooking, add the kosher salt and a grind or two of fresh black pepper, and toss to combine.

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