Roasted Asparagus & Lemon with Garlic Scapes

Have you tried garlic scapes yet?  I have to warn you, once you’ve had them you’ll be craving them again and again.   They are another one of those unique items that are available for only a short time so you have to make the most of them.  I’ve done three recipes with them and I have lots more ideas so let’s get started!

Garlic scapes are the curly stalks that grow from hardneck garlic bulbs a few weeks before they are ready to harvest.  They must be cut off so that the garlic bulb will not be drained of it’s strength and energy.  A lot of people toss the scapes but they can be eaten raw, roasted, grilled or sauteed.  Think of these young, soft, stalks as green onions when it comes to cooking.

You simply wash these gently and dry and snip off the ends.  You can chop these and add them to a salad as I have or you can make pesto, chutney, salsa, relish, sauces, marinades, mustard….you are only limited by your imagination!

This simple appetizer of roasted asparagus and lemon has red onions, raw garlic scapes and parmesan cheese.  I used a local cheese called Temiskaming from Nicholyn Farms for the parm. I used this last year in a number of my dishes for the farms and I especially loved it on the bread in my rhubarb chutney. Temiskaming is a hard cheese with a golden-yellow interior. It is deeply flavourful with slight sharpness, yet mellow and creamy. The inspiration for this cheese originated in the Azores off the coast of Portugal.  Heavenly!

With the leftovers, I added some shaved prosciutto and liked it even more.  There are so many things you can do with a simple dish like this – add chicken, shrimp, pasta – whatever you’re craving that day.

Eating fresh produce every day is simply fabulous and soon the raspberries and blueberries will be available and I will be in a quandry because it will be difficult not to devour them all before I can cook and photograph them for you!

If you haven’t seen scapes before, this is what they will look like at your farmer’s market.  If you’re a garlic lover, I know you will come to appreciate these serpentine stalks as well.

When I was roasting the lemons and asparagus I tossed in a few cloves of garlic just because I like to munch on them.  I like my lemons blackened but you can see I got a little carried away with them, ha!  No worries – I’ve adjusted the time in the recipe!

I’ve got a few scapes left over and I’m thinking they would be a great addition to the steaks and chicken we’re grilling tomorrow.  Can’t wait!

I’d love to hear what you do with scapes.  Share your shots of what’s going on in your kitchen with me on Instagram by hashtagging #simplyfreshdinners.  Happy Independence Day to all my family, friends and readers in the US.  Cheers!

*Nicholyn Farms provided all of the produce for this recipe but the opinions are my own.