Accidental harvest

Since I just did a post on walking onions, l thought it might be good to talk about another fine spring allium that is often overlooked by home gardeners.

Last summer, when George was just a few days old, friends came to help with the garlic harvest.   We harvested 40 lbs of organically grown heirloom garlic, but, inevitably, some heads were missed.  Here you can see three distinct heads of garlic that were forgotten in the ground.  We have about 2 dozen of these clumps around the farm.

When they germinated in late fall/early spring, we left them be.  With so many bulbs planted close together, they will be too crowded to each create a new head of garlic.  That doesn’t mean they don’t produce a tasty crop of their own, however accidental.

The veggie these neglected garlic heads produce is an altogether unique food called “Green Garlic”.  They are much -prized by chefs, and can be quite expensive in the store/at the farmers market, if you can even find them.

Raw, they can be used in a similar fashion to scallions, but with a bit more of a garlicky kick.  I particularly like them in on top of mashed potatoes.

Cooked, green garlic mellows to a delicate flavor reminiscent of mature, aged garlic, but without the heat.   You can prepare them as you would young leeks, splitting them in half lengthwise, and either roasting them with olive oil, or poaching them in salt water or stock.  They can then be pureed and added to any soup, savory souffle.  Or, green garlic is equally delicious chopped and sauteed with pinenuts and pea-shoots.

If you’re looking for other green garlic recipes, there are some tasty ones here.