Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Pepperoncino | Aïoli | Caesar Salad | Spring Garlic & Eggs | Spring Garlic & Potatoes | Spring Garlic Pesto | Spring Garlic Vinaigrette | Garlic Scape Aïoli

Storage

Garlic should be stored at room temperature in a dry location like the kitchen counter or cupboard for up to 1 month.

Root Cellar

Like onions and winter squash, garlic should be kept in a cool, dry location such as an attic, garage, or unheated room.  If kept dry at 45-50 degrees, garlic should keep until March. In storage, garlic will begin to sprout. There are myths that claim the green part is toxic or bitter. In fact, the green sprout is the product of energy stored in the cloves being transferred to the new plant and is completely harmless.

Varieties We Grow

German White: Porcelain type. Mild, sweet flavor. Makes large heads. A favorite with local growers. 4-6 cloves per head.

Music: Porcelain type. Our favorite raw or roasted. Deeply sweet, nutty and aromatic. 4-6 cloves per head. 

Russian Red: Rocambole type. Very strong, pungent and long lasting when eaten raw. Spicy flavor even when cooked. Plant makes fat, juicy garlic scapes. 6-10 cloves per head.

Bavarian Purple: Purple stripe type. Extremely hot and peppery when raw. Aromatic, complex flavor when cooked. 4-6 cloves per head. Rare.

Inchelium Red: Softneck artichoke type. Pleasant and not overpowering, raw or cooked. Mellow, earthy vegetal taste when roasted. 8-12 cloves per head.

Garlic, glorious garlic. Garlic is that magical ingredient that brings the flavors of all types of food to life. Without it, we would be lost.

Every vegetable has its part to play in the kitchen, but none play as central or as versatile or as complex role as garlic. In a single meal, this amazing bulb may be hitting several different notes in different dishes. It provides that extra earthy richness in a bean dish, livens up the humblest sauteed greens, and spikes a salsa with its peppery bite. It plays that warm, steady tone in a tomato sauce, and that high note in a zesty salad dressing or aioli. Roasted, served all on its own with just a touch of salt and oil, no other bread topping touches it.

Without garlic, where would we be? Eating would be mundane, like the middle days of a coast to coast road trip or a never-ending convalescence. Sure, there is decent food out there that contains no garlic, but how many burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches and bowls of cereal can you eat? Sausage would cease to exist. No one would want to eat clams. No more Italian food or Mexican or Indian or any other type of food eaten by people who love flavor. There would, however, be sushi... but is it worth it?

Garlic essentially enables a much more highly varied diet than what we Americans have been used to. It opens up entire vegetable and animal kingdoms to the curious eater. No exotic vegetable or suspicious meat that I know of is not helped along with a touch of garlic. It turns out that the spoonful of sugar for the medicine of a healthy diet is actually garlic. And that doesn't even count what it does for your immune system.

Garlic Recipes

Aglio, Olio e Pepperoncino

• 1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
• 1 head garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
• salt and pepper
• grated Parmesan

This is about the simplest pasta dish we know, and it happens to be one of our favorites, especially when made with whole wheat spaghetti, garden fresh garlic, and freshly dried chilies. Bring a large pot of heavily salted (2 Tbsp) water to a boil.  Heat garlic in oil, sprinkle in pepper flakes. Turn off the heat before the garlic browns. Cook spaghetti al dente, drain and return to pot.  Stir in garlic & chili oil and serve with the cheese.  Remember, “Per star bene fin dal mattino, mangia aglio e pepperoncino” (To be well from morning to night, eat garlic and hot pepper). 

Aioli

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• coarse salt

Mash garlic with some salt in a mortar and pestle or with the back of a broad knife. Mix yolks with salt in blender until foamy, then carefully drizzle in the olive oil until the mixture thickens. Add the garlic paste and blend a few seconds more. Makes 1 cup.  Use as a sauce for grilled red meats, chicken, or vegetables, all manner of fish dishes (especially shellfish), rice, potatoes, soups, and salads.  This versatile condiment will keep you coming back for more, fresh breath be damned.

Caesar Salad 

• 

  Salad:
• 2 large heads romaine
• shavings of Parmesan
• Dressing:
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup or more olive oil
• 2-4 anchovy filets in oil
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• dash of Worcestershire sauce, if you have it
• pinch of salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 egg yolk
•  
• Croutons:
• 4-5 slices stale bread
• 1 clove garlic
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Wash, dry and tear the lettuce into a large serving bowl. Top with the shavings of cheese. In a food processor or blender, blend all the dressing ingredients except the yolk and oil until smooth.  Add the yolk and blend briefly, then drizzle in the oil slowly while the machine is running to emulsify.  The dressing should be pale yellow in color and appear creamy. 

To make the croutons, toast the bread in the toaster oven. (You can also dehydrate fresh bread this way if you don’t have stale.) When the bread is crisp, rub each side with the clove of garlic, and then chop the slices into cubes. Transfer them to a small mixing bowl and coat lightly with the oil, salt & pepper. Return them to the oven and continue to bake until the oil makes them crispy. Take the three components to the table separately. Just before serving, mix everything together vigorously and with flair! (For a seasonal variation you can substitute spring garlic or garlic scapes for the garlic for a milder, sweeter flavor.)

Spring Garlic

Nature's first green is gold.  On a vegetable farm, the first sign of life in spring is always the green shoots of garlic poking up from their straw-covered beds. Garlic is the foundation of practically every dish that we make in our farm kitchen, and its life cycle signals the passage of time in our fields.  So you could easily say it is the most important crop that we grow.

By the middle of May the shoots have taken off; leafy, succulent and sweet, they are now ready for the frying pan, the salad bowl, the cuisinart. Spring garlic is a spring treat.  It is available only for a brief period in late May and early June, so now is the time to enjoy its mild garlicky essence in spring-inspired dished of all sorts: spring garlic omelettes, salad dressings, potato salads, asparagus risottos, spinach sautes, and on and on and on.

Spring garlic is entirely edible. To prepare it for cooking, simply trim the tougher leaf tips, strip off the first layer of skin, and trim the roots.  Chop the stalks like scallions and use them in any dish that calls for garlic.  Since it has a much milder flavor, use twice to three times a much as you would of regular bulbs.  Many people who are sensitive to garlic can enjoy spring garlic without hesitation because it is so mild.  Even used raw in pestos it does not overwhelm.  5 stalks of garlic and a small bunch of basil make a nice pesto for one pound of pasta.

Spring garlic is symbolic of a return to the kitchen to delight in the green grassy taste of the New England spring.  Its natural mates are asparagus, spinach, lettuce, greens, and eggs.  Spring garlic is also personally symbolic for us.  Caroline and I met while I was working at a garlic farm in 2003.  She helped me clean and prepare hundreds of bunches of the stuff, and we drove it down to New York in my reeking green car.  That was the night I met her closest friends and family.  Needless to say, they had heard a lot about "garlic boy."  Now we bring spring garlic to you every spring.  

Garlic Scapes  

We don't grow flowers here at the Kitchen Garden.  Our rule is "if you can't eat it, we don't grow it."  So when there is a flower that we offer, we delight in both its edibility and its aesthetic merits.

Garlic scapes, which are the flower buds of the garlic plant, are a prime example of this.  They are a sweet garlicky treat, only to be found in June, and their spiraling whips are among the most elegant of the crops we bring in from our fields.  Of course, any vegetable this outrageous-looking has to be fun to use.

They are used essentially the same way we use spring garlic earlier in the season.  Chop them up and saute them as garlic.  Make pesto, use in salads, or for the truly garlic-addicted, grill them whole.  
 
We remove these scapes from the garlic plants because they are good to eat, but also because their removal stimulates the plants to form larger bulbs.  If left on, the flower buds would open and make little teeny, tiny garlic bulbs called bulbils, which are delicious in their own right, but significantly reduce yields if left to mature.

Garlic scapes keep well in bag in the fridge for up to three weeks, so stock up and extend their short-lived season!

Recipes

Garlic Scapes and Spring Garlic may be used interchangably in these recipes.

Spring Garlic & Eggs

Spring garlic is a seasonal delicacy only to be enjoyed in June. Similar to scallions, you can eat both the white stalk and the green leaves – both have a sweet flavor and are bursting with garlicky juice. This recipe is also terrific with garlic scapes, the flower bud that forms on certain types of garlic just before the bulb starts to bulge and divide into cloves. 

• 1 cup chopped spring garlic
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 4 eggs
• salt & pepper

Saute the garlic in the olive oil for 5 minutes or so, until soft and starting to brown. Add the cheese in an even layer and immediately crack the eggs on top. Fry the eggs over high, sprinkle with salt & pepper, then flip. The bottom should be a slightly charred mass of crispy, salty , garlicky goodness. Cook the yolks easy or hard as desired. Serves two for breakfast with toast and orange juice.

Spring Garlic and Potatoes, Russian Style

This recipe was emphatically recounted to me at the Union Square Market in New York by a cheerful Russian couple.

"You take young potato, boil it; add butter, this (spring garlic), and dill."

Spring Garlic and Basil Pesto

• 5 stalks spring garlic, trimmed & chopped
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• 2 Tbsp pine nuts
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan and/or romano cheese

Put everything in the food processor and chop until smooth, adding a few drops of water or oil to improve the consistency.  Add grated cheese and give a few pulses. Serve over pasta, spread on bread or crackers, or make sandwiches with fresh mozzarella and tomato.

Notes: Choose a pasta shape with small crevices that will catch the tiny particles: fusilli, farfalle, penne rigate, etc.  Spaghetti is also always a good chioce for pestos. The green of the garlic won't oxidize like basil, so this pesto ends up with a nicer presentation.

Spring Garlic Vinaigrette

• 2 stalks spring garlic, finely sliced
• 2 Tbsp vinegar of choice (we like red wine vinegar with a touch of balsamic)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Garlic Scape Aioli

• Handful of garlic scapes, chopped
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste.

In a food processor or blender (or mortar and pestle), blend garlic scapes with salt until a paste forms. Add egg yolk and continue to blend until incorporated, then add oil drop by drop until a thick, shiny aioli is achieved. Stir in a few drops of lemon juice. 

This sauce makes a great accompaniment to grilled fish, meats or vegetables. It can be spread on a sandwich, used as a dip for crudités, or folded into a potato salad (with fresh dill!).