My friend Kelly and I were on a serious mission to find garlic scapes at the farmer’s market this Spring. We drove up to Charlotte’s regional market almost every weekend in search of “the garlic man”. A couple Saturdays went by with no sight of him and we were both beginning to get a bit antsy. We started asking around: “Have you seen the garlic man? When are the garlic scapes coming?” Knowing that our window to snatch up these lovely things was extremely small we didn’t want to miss out. Finally they arrived and all at once too! The market was a sea of scapes and we were swimming in it! I overheard all kinds of comments during my garlic scape purchase: What are those? What do they taste like? How do you cook them? I wanted to tell everyone to just get them before they’re gone and figure the rest out later! I didn’t have a plan for the scapes at the time but I did pick up a couple squash and zucchini while I was there so this sandwich practically made itself. The ribbons of squash and zucchini are roasted with smokey, savory flavors: liquid smoke, tamari, smoked sea salt. The garlic scape aioli is a simple two-step process: first blanch the scapes then combine all the ingredients into your food processor. I cheated and just used mayonnaise instead of making it from scratch with a yolk. The faster you can get this sandwich into your mouth the better, just sayin’.
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Step 1
Peel the squash / zucchini into a bowl using a vegetable peeler. Toss together with all the ingredients above and roast in pre-heated oven at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes or until light brown crispy edges appear. Let cool slightly, layer ribbons on sandwich as shown.
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Step 2
Blanch the garlic scapes: first in a bath of boiling hot water for two minutes, then into a bath of ice water for two minutes. The blanching turns the scapes bright green, makes them a bit more tamable and even more delicious. Combine all the ingredients into your food processor and blend.
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Step 3
Assemble sandwich as shown.
Ingredients for the Roasted Squash Ribbons
3 squash and/or zucchini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon tamari
1 teaspoon pepper flakes
dash of liquid smoke
generous pinch of smoked salt (or plain salt)
Directions
Peel the squash / zucchini into a bowl using a vegetable peeler. Toss together with all the ingredients above and roast in pre-heated oven at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes or until light brown crispy edges appear. Let cool slightly, layer ribbons on sandwich as shown.
Ingredients for the Garlic Scape Aioli
about 6 to 8 garlic scapes, blanched
1 tablespoon capers
juice of half a lemon
1/4 cup mayonnaise or just mayo
pinch of salt
Directions
Blanch the garlic scapes: first in a bath of boiling hot water for two minutes, then into a bath of ice water for two minutes. The blanching turns the scapes bright green, makes them a bit more tamable and even more delicious. Combine all the ingredients into your food processor and blend. Smear on your favorite bread and assemble sandwich.
Sandwich Assembly
your favorite marinara sauce (store-bought or homemade)
thinly sliced parmesan cheese
your favorite bread
Notes
Want more garlic scape recipe ideas? Last year I made an egg salad sandwich with miso and caramelized garlic scapes.
Can’t find garlic scapes? This sandwich would be delicious with a spread of your favorite pesto too!