Every year we hit that part of late spring/early summer when the bright green curly tops of garlic bulbs emerge – Welcome the Garlic Scape!  They are the stem that comes out of the garlic and sadly, they have a short season – when they are harvested, they are done and the wait for next year begins.

It is a promise of warmth and sunshine and more produce to come. It has been a staple in the last few years of our CSA adventures and found out last summer that my dad has been growing garlic, but he hasn’t cooked with them – so we were welcomed with a bountiful year of garlic scapes.

Garlic scapes of the flavor of garlic with a hint of scallion.  They can be eaten raw, branches, roasted, pickled, and I’m sure more.  We have enjoyed roasting them and adding to the top of homemade pizzas and adding them to sauces or pesto’s (like the Zucchini Noodles with Scape Pesto).

The texture can be a little fibrous depending on the cook, so I appreciate the roasted flavor that this brings to this dip, while being pulsed to a smooth texture.

Add in fresh basil, tangy sour cream, tart lemon, and smooth olive oil, and you have a well balanced dip or alternative sauce for burgers or sandwiches.

We served this with a variety of veggies and kettle chips. I should have taken a picture of ‘the after’ serving – it was a clean plate and smiling faces.

Roasted Garlic Scape Dip

Ingredients:

• 10-12 garlic scapes, roughly ends and flower top removed
• 1 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup basil
• 2 cups sour cream
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°. Place scapes on a sheet pan and top with olive oil and salt and pepper. Stir to coat. Place in oven for 10-15 minutes, checking every 5 minutes until nicely roasted and slightly dark.

Add roughly chopped scapes and fresh basil to small food processor and pulse until fine paste.  In a separate bowl, add sour cream, lemon juice, olive oil, and basil scape paste.  Stir to combine and salt and pepper to taste. 

Happy Dipping!!!

*Recipe an slight adaptation of recipe on YellowBirchHobbyFarm site.