Green Garlic

Every week I go pick up my farm box and there always seems to be one vegetable that taunts me from the box, “I am already rotting in the back of your fridge from last week…what do you think you are going to do with me now”. This season it’s green garlic. I just restarted getting the farm box and each week there it is again, laughing at me. It looks like a green onion but the bulb at the end is a bit bigger and I had no idea what to do with it. This week when I picked up the box, I knew it was time to figure out green garlic, conquer it before it could reproach me from my fridge anymore. I read up online and found out that green garlic is garlic that is picked before the bulb forms. It’s sweeter than regular garlic and not as pungent.

I started out with a simple stir fry. I chopped the green garlic (one bulb) like a green onion and roughly chopped up some mixed greens (chard, kale, spinach) from my farm box. I sautéed the green garlic in a splash of olive oil until they were soft, then added in the chopped greens (about 2 cups). I squeezed a half a lemon over the top and cooked till the greens became bright green. I added this to some brown rice and lentils for a delicious dinner.

The sweetness and flavor of the green garlic makes an excellent base for a soup. I looked over a few recipes and created a recipe that would work with my ingredients.

1 ½ cups green garlic chopped

½ cup spring onions chopped

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 Tsp. Honey

½ Tsp. Lemon Zest

Sauté the garlic and onions in the honey, oil and zest until tender.

Add 3 cups roughly chopped Stir Fry Greens (Kale, Chard, Spinach) and Stock to cover (approx. 6 cups). Cook for 15 min or until greens are softened.

Add herbs (1 tsp. of lemon thyme and 1 tsp. of lemon balm) and simmer for 5 min.

Whisk in an egg white and take off the heat.

Next up, I am going to try out some dressings. Here are some recipes I am looking forward to trying and more information about green garlic.

Chef Daniel Patterson explains to the NY Times about green garlic.