Garlic scapes are the green shoots that grow out of the top of a garlic plant, and apparently right now is the time they are harvested, judging by their ubiquitous presence at the farmer's market. Scapes have a pungent garlicky flavor, but are somewhat more mild than straight-up garlic.
I also had thyme from the CSA, which always goes good with roasted potatoes, and I had a hankering for actual roasted garlic. The recipe follows, again with all amounts approximate.
Garlic Scapes and Thyme Roasted Potatoes with Roasted Garlic
- 2-3 lbs small red potatoes, quartered
- 2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
- 3 large garlic scapes, thickly sliced
- 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
- 6-10 whole garlic cloves, unpeeled
- Chopped scallions
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine potatoes, thyme, scapes, and 2 Tbsp olive oil in a medium bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. (I find you can be generous with the salt and pepper when tossing in olive oil, because excess seasonings tends to fall off -- but your results may vary) Place potato mixture in a single layer in a baking dish and place in preheated oven. Stir occasionally.
After about 20 minutes or so, toss the garlic cloves in the remaining 1 tsp olive oil and add to the baking dish. Return to oven, and continue to stir occasionally.
Total cooking time will probably be around 40-50 minutes, but ovens do vary. Keep an eye on it, and when it starts to brown, taste a potato to see if it is tender. If it is not yet tender, cover with foil so the outsides don't burn. Your potatoes are done when they have a nice brown crust and are tender on the inside.
Remove the roasted garlic cloves and serve them in a small bowl for passing among the garlicheads at your table. Sprinkle the chopped scallions over the potatoes just before serving. If desired, serve with a side of sour cream sprinkled with chopped scallions.
For the roasted asparagus, I simply tossed it in olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted at 400 degrees until done. I still maintain that this is just about the best possible recipe for roasted vegetables.
My family likes to use Alice Waters' technique for hard-cooked and soft-cooked eggs, which she describes in The Art of Simple Food. I don't want to be reproducing copyrighted recipes on my blog, but the basic idea is that you place the eggs in water that is just below a simmer, and maintain that until they are the desired doneness. If you put eggs in cold water and bring it to a boil, you don't have good control over cooking time. If you put eggs in boiling or even simmering water, they tend to burst from the sudden internal pressure change. Keeping the water at just below a simmer results in a tender white and a beautifully soft and bright yolk.
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