What To Do With Green Garlic

Since everyone in the CSA got a share of some tender young green garlic this weekend, here are some recipes for using them:

Green Garlic Salsa Verde

Green Garlic, Chive and Red Pepper Frittata

Flounder With Green Garlic

Now, what did I do with the green garlic? I wanted something bright, fresh and tastes like spring, something that would coax the sun to come out and stay out. And I wanted to make something with it pretty fast that I could put away and use later. I came up with a very simple green garlic pesto, again, with just a few key ingredients. I cleaned the green garlic and went to my nascent herb garden where some new baby parsley was just peeking out. I went ahead and literally chopped them off in the bud. I didn't get much but they were still very fragrant. I pulled out my mini Cuisinart and stuffed into it the green garlic cut into 1 inch pieces, the baby parsley, zest and juice of a lemon, a little spoon of honey, some olive oil and salt and pepper.

 

I processed it all until I had a nice consistency. If you don't have a small food processor, you can do this in a mortar and pestle. Or you can even chop up the green garlic and parsley finely and whisk in the other ingredients in a jar and that would work just fine. I got a lovely, light, citrusy pesto I was going for, it didn't have any of the raw bitterness of a regular garlic. And my kitchen smelled delicious long after I was done.

What could I do with it?

• Rub some on chicken or fish before grilling, roasting, broiling or baking and spoon some extra on top.
• Toss it with pasta, blanched fresh peas and grated parmesan or pecorino cheese.
• Swirl some into scrambled eggs.
• Add it to a spring risotto and finish with a little cream, butter and cheese.
• Smear some on french or italian bread, top with tomato slices and fresh mozzarella and run under a broiler.

If you have other ideas or made something else with green garlic, please do share in the comments section below!

Happy Spring!