It is scape season! Scapes, (the curling flower stalks of hardnecked garlic) have a short season, only about 2 weeks in mid-June. They have a mildly garlic flavor. I love the curling nature of the scapes as they are growing on the garlic plants. They are most tender when harvested with just one curlicue in them, so I don’t know if they would keep growing in a spiral or not. Next year, I’m going to sacrifice one scape, letting it grow to see what exotic shape it will take. Wish I had thought to do that this year!
Scapes harvested at the Garlic Farm.
We have a wonderful source for scapes close to us; we use more than I can harvest from the 10-12 garlic plants that I grow. Last year’s pesto was a huge hit but the pasta is even better.
Scape Pasta (adapted from garlicfarmct.com)
Makes 1 pound of pasta
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup semolina flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 4 ounces garlic scapes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Roughly chop the scapes into 2-3 inch pieces. Transfer them to the bowl of a food processor and puree thoroughly, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the flour, eggs, salt & pepper to the processor and pulse until the dough is a uniform green, scraping down the sides as needed.
The food processor makes quick work of the dough.
With the processor running, add the olive oil in through the feeder tube and process until the dough forms a ball on the blade. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
Don’t let the green color turn you off of the pasta!
Split the dough into just a bit larger than golf ball sized chunks. Using a pasta machine, flatten each ball into strips on settings 5, 3, then 2. (Start with the widest setting and work to a thinner setting.)
A handy pasta attachment for the Kitchen Aide!
The dough gets flattened into increasingly thinner strips.
Run the strips through the cutter to form spaghetti, laying out the strands.
The strips get cut into spaghetti.
The spaghetti can air dry until you are ready to cook it. Any leftover, uncooked spaghetti can be left out to dry overnight then put into plastic bags and stored in the pantry for future use. The dried pasta will cook in boiling water in about 5 minutes.
Cook the fresh pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water for about 2 minutes.
Fresh pasta cooks quickly.
Serve the pasta with a touch of olive oil and some fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
A meal or side dish!
Fresh pasta is always worth the effort! ~Linda
Scape Pasta (adapted from garlicfarmct.com) Makes 1 pound of pasta
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup semolina flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 4 ounces garlic scapes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Roughly chop the scapes into 2-3 inch pieces. Transfer them to the bowl of a food processor and puree thoroughly, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the flour, eggs, salt & pepper to the processor and pulse until the dough is a uniform green, scraping down the sides as needed. With the processor running, add the olive oil in through the feeder tube and process until the dough forms a ball on the blade. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. Split the dough into just a bit larger than golf ball sized chunks. Using a pasta machine, flatten each ball into strips on settings 5, 3, then 2. (Start with the widest setting and work to a thinner setting.) Run the strips through the cutter to form spaghetti, laying out the strands. Cook the fresh pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water for about 2 minutes. Serve the pasta with a touch of olive oil and some fresh grated Parmesan cheese. (Any leftover, uncooked spaghetti can be left out to dry overnight then put into plastic bags and stored in the pantry for future use. The dried pasta will cook in boiling water in about 5 minutes.)