Italian

All about Green Garlic
For cooks, garlic is indispensable. But with its
piquant flavor and strong aroma, it can also
dominate a dish. For a sweeter, more subtly
aromatic and delicately flavored alternative, look
to green garlic. With long, tender stalks and just
the beginnings of a bulb, this scallion look-alike is
simply young garlic that’s been harvested before
the bulb is mature. Use the entire plant as you
would regular garlic to add fresh, herbal garlic
notes to your favorite soups, salads, and sautés.
From March through May, it offers the perfect
break from its older brother’s bite.
When garlic (Allium sativum) is harvested
before its bulb develops individual cloves, it’s
called green garlic, spring garlic, or baby garlic.
Farmers have always picked green garlic as a way
to thin the crop, but now it’s grown increasingly
popular as its own crop. Green garlic’s slender
stalks are about a foot long and lead to a small white bulb that is sometimes
streaked with purple; the bulb itself resembles that of a spring onion or fat
scallion.
How to buy and store
Green garlic should have a pleasant garlic aroma; lush, bright green leaves; and a
white or purple-hued bulb end. Avoid plants with dried ends or soggy leaves, as
well as larger, pungent-smelling plants (they’re often tough). When storing, treat
green garlic as you would an herb: Wrap it in a damp paper towel, put it in a sealed
plastic bag, and refrigerate it for up to 5 days.
How to use
Green garlic can be cooked or eaten raw. Use it in any dish that benefits from a hit
of garlic, or use it as a substitute for scallions. Trim it as you would a leek: Remove
the root end of the bulb and any tough dark green leaves. (Reserve discarded
leaves for stews and sauces; they can be tossed in whole, like a bay leaf, for
flavor.)
Add thinly sliced and lightly sautéed green garlic to mashed potatoes,
gratins, stir-fries, scrambled eggs and omelets, and pasta dishes. Use it as an
aromatic base for soup, steamed mussels and clams, or shrimp sautés. Try it in
a vinaigrette or blend it into aïoli. For a delicious take on pesto, purée green garlic
with fresh basil, pine nuts, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Green garlic pairs beautifully with other spring ingredients; combine it with
asparagus and peas in a risotto, or toss it into a salad of fresh greens.
—Evan Barbour
P A S TA 109