Green Garlic is a Different Breed of Cat
6 June 2008 by Jean Johnson
I have to credit the farmers’ market vendors for getting me hip to green garlic. And once again, now I’m growing my own. You plant garlic in the fall, and each clove you nestle down into the earth will return the favor by becoming a whole bulb.
This time of year when the garlic is starting to really grow, you can find it anywhere between the size of a scallion (spring onion) or larger in circumference as the plants inch their way into maturity. What’s missing, though, are the papery husks around the tiny forming cloves. That makes green garlic a cook’s delight, since all you do is slice it up just a like a scallion.
Expect green garlic to be mild as well. No loud aroma at all. Just a hint of garlic that does so much for most anything primavera: whole grains like quinoa, whole grain bruschettas, whole grain pizzas, and of course, trusty spaghetti squash (so vastly superior to pasty white flour pastas).
Also–and here’s the real scoop behind green garlic as far as I’m concerned: In the spring when the fall garlic you planted is maturing, sometimes you need to think the patch some–weed out the plants that ended up too close together to allow the winter bulbs plenty of room to form. That’s why green garlic comes into my kitchen–and I why I suspect it winds up at farmers markets.
Please also join me on Facebook, watch my YouTube videos, and follow me on Twitter.
< Go back