When in Madison my friends and I head straight for the Dane County Farmer's Market. It is an entity all in itself. Marketgoers peacefully and patiently make their way around the capital's square in a steady stream, as if on a conveyor belt. Customers can hop in and out of the stream, but the crowd is always moving. This visit I picked up some tayberry jam (tayberries are a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry), a vegan mountain cookie chock-full of oats, nuts, and chocolate, and a big bunch of scapes--the flowering portion of the head of garlic. The market was abounding with scapes, as were many of the flower arrangements garnishing the tables at the wedding. I was fascinated by the curly greenery so I picked up a bunch to bring home with me.
Today I pulled out the scapes and looked around for recipes that would highlight this new plant. In the end I decided to saute them up and add them to a fresh summer pasta dish. Cut up in the pasta, the scapes resembles skinny asparagus stalks, but tasted vastly different. From the garlic plant, the scapes had a faint garlic flavor with a gentle bite to them. I was not sure about cooking time so mine were still a bit tough. Make sure to cook them long enough to release the stalky-stringiness. I'll definitely be trying them again before the season ends!
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