Braising...Vegetables

Here I am in my yard with nothing much to do... we are having a yard sale, I kinda just have to sit here and wait. We don't live on a busy street and I only started advertising the day before, sadly for my things anticipating new homes this combination does not make for a swift sale. It does however give me time to catch up on my blogs, this moving thing has totally killed my momentum.

I originally wanted to  post a recipe for corn muffins from the last issue of Gourmet Magazine (RIP), but where that magazine has gone I don't know (my only hope is that it found its way into a book box and it is safely and securely stored). So instead this is a garlic Scape recipe... What? Yes I know Scape season is long gone, but here is the good news, this is actually a braising recipe and you can use leeks, carrots, turnips, onions, and more instead- MB suggest endive and romain lettuce.

Earlier this June we went to an outlaying farm and came home with all sorts of goodies. Baby Bok Choy, little golden nuggety potatoes, various fresh herbs, strawberries and garlic Scapes. Neither my husband nor I had ever cooked with Scape, thinking that was weird we then thought "have we ever actually eaten a Scape?" It seems like we should have, we are both big food people and will try *just* about anything, but to our best recollection our answer was a resounding no. So what the hell, we'd give it a go.

Bombing around the internet led us to several Scape pesto recipes that sounded very good but my husband and I did not want to eat a whole bunch of raw garlic no matter what the consensus was.  So we turned to our friend Mark Bittman (OK in my head he is our friend) for a solution. We have always had good luck with his braising recipes and in particular leeks so why not apply that to the scape?

Braised Vegetables (Scape)

adapted from The Best Recipes in the World

Mark Bittman

• 2 tbsp butter or extra virgin Olive Oil
• 8-10 Garlic Scapes, trimmed and cut into 2" pieces.
• handful of cherry tomatoes, leave whole
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 3/4 cups of stock, vegetable, chicken or water (if I am using water I like to use 1/4 cup of vermouth)
• Fresh Lemon juice, to taste.

Melt the butter or oil over medium heat in a (oven proof) sauce pan that has a lid.  Add Scapes, cherry tomatoes, salt & pepper,  and stock to cover, bring to a boil, reduce to a bare simmer. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat until  very tender about 30- 40 minutes. Checking the liquid occasionally.  Each combination of vegetables will have slightly different cooking times. And if stove top space is an issue,  the whole thing can be transferred and cooked in a 350F oven  after it is brought to the boil. 

Serve with freshly squeezed lemon juice.

The end results were deeply rich brown caramelized stalks that melted in the mouth and tomatoes that popped as you bit into them. The Scapes had a mellow garlicky taste without the bite and tomatoes gave a nice splash of acidity. Come Scape season next year, I will re-visit this recipe.

photos by me.