Garlic Scapes

A garlic scape is the chute that pops out of the bulb of garlic every spring–similar to a tulip. The farmer then snips off the scape in order for the garlic to mature properly. My question is where have these been? Have we traditionally disposed of these amazing greens? Maybe farmers have been enjoying them all along? I mean we have had garlic forever but only in the last ten years have we found scapes in the DC farmers market circuit. Today we got a huge bag of them from our CSA Clagett Farm. Every year in early summer we find as many as we can and pickle them. Someone at Rupperts even came up with a martini using our pickled version of this succulent green bean like vegetation... Pickle, grill or roast–treat them with the honor traditionally reserved for asparagus and you will have really made something from what I am assuming was traditionally discarded or kept by those in the know...

Pickled Garlic Scapes
Clean garlic scapes removing any dirt or brown spots and place them in a large bowl. Combine cider vinegar, water, salt, agave nectar, black pepper corns, and mustard seeds in a pot. Taste the mixture and adjust to taste, add more salt or agave nectar if necessary. Bring to a boil. Once mixture is boiling pour mixture over the scapes taking care to cover them completely. You can eat the scapes immediately or even better store them in the refrigerator and let them continue to pickle. They can be used in so many ways including chopped and added to salads, paired with roasted poultry or on their own.