Stir-Fried Garlic Scapes with Bacon

At this Sunday's Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, be sure to snatch up some of the spring's fleeting treats, including Tiger Lily Art Company's springtime blossoms and Camas Swale Farm's garlic scapes.

Garlic scapes or whistles are the garlic plant stalks that are harvested to direct the plants' growth into the bulbs. They have a very mild garlic flavor and are delicious roasted on a sheet pan with zucchini or grilled and incorporated into salsa. For inspiration for last week's bunch, I turned to Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice, which had a recipe for stir-fried garlic stems with bacon (she also has a vegetarian version with mushrooms). I had fewer garlic stems than needed, so I added edamame beans, and I adjusted the recipe for fattier American-style bacon. The pairing of smoky bacon with sweet garlic scapes was a delicious addition to a post-market feast. 

Stir-Fried Garlic Scapes with Bacon

adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice

250 g garlic scapes (about 3 bunches), or substitute in some edamame beans
3 thin slices of bacon
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil

1. Trim off the blossom tips and any fibers bases of the garlic scapes and cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths. Cut the bacon crosswise into thin strips. If using frozen edamame beans, cook them in salted boiling water for about 4 minutes and drain.

2. Heat a skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add the bacon slices and cook until they are crisped and the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon to a bowl and pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the rendered bacon fat. 

3. Return the skillet to medium heat and add the garlic scapes. Stir-fry until they are just tender and started to wrinkle. Add the edamame beans if using, soy sauce, and reserved bacon and stir to mix. Taste and add salt if desired. Remove from the heat, stir in the sesame oil, and serve.

Springtime Spaghetti Carbonara

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you can look forward to fresh produce from Sweetwater Farm and pasture-raised poultry from Fair Valley Farm including:

kohlrabi (delicious in salads)

fava beans and sugar snap peas (make carbonara)

pattypan squash and zucchini (try tsukemono pickles)

spring onions, fresh spring garlic, and garlic scapes (make some scallion pancakes)

kale, chard, collards, braising greens mix, lettuce, and salad mix (try this sauteed kale)

broccoli, Italian green cauliflower, and beets (make some bright pink beet pasta)
strawberries (try tapioca flamingos)

dried beans and grains from Camus Country Mill (pick up fixings for hot oatmeal)

jams, salsa, and pickles from Sweet Creek Foods

pastured chickens, as well as chicken hearts and livers (try this chicken liver pate)

Spaghetti carbonara was one of the dietary staples of my mother (before she was my mother) and her roommate (my future aunt) when living as impoverished students in a Paris garret. The recipe persisted in the family and it was one of the first dishes that both my cousins and my sister and I learned to make. It is appealingly simple: toss hot cooked spaghetti into raw eggs and grated cheese and the pasta strands become coated with a lovely creamy sauce. Then add bacon and possibly some alliums and vegetables. This dish is elevated from subsistence fare if you use top quality bacon (such as my parents sent my husband for his birthday) and increase the vegetables; during my childhood we often had it with onions, bell peppers, and zucchini. Last week I discovered that if you use the freshest spring snap peas and garlic scapes, the dish is transformed into something truly sublime and worthy of the finest dining establishment in Paris. 

Springtime Spaghetti Carbonara

1/2 lb bacon
3/4 lb snap peas
4 garlic scapes
2 eggs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
plenty of freshly ground black pepper
1 lb spaghetti

1. Set a large pot of salted water to boil.

2. In a large serving bowl, combine the eggs, grated cheese and plenty of black pepper, and mix well.

3. Rinse the snap peas, snap off the stem ends and remove the threads from the top of the pods. Cut the pods along the diagonal into 1/2 inch pieces. Rinse the garlic scapes, trim off the flower ends and slice the stems into 1/4 inch pieces.

4. Cut the bacon strips into 1/2 inch pieces. When the water is close to a boil, start cooking the bacon pieces in a large skillet over medium heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon. Drain off all but 1 or 2 Tbsp of bacon fat, return the pan to the heat source, and toss in the garlic scapes. Cook, stirring for about about one minute, then add the snap peas. Cook for about two minutes, and then add back the bacon pieces to the pan. Cook the mixture for about one more minute until the peas have turned a more brilliant green but still have plenty of crunch. Remove from heat.

5. While the bacon is cooking, throw your spaghetti into the boiling water and cook according to the instructions. Position your colander in the sink and your serving bowl with the egg mixture close by. As soon as the spaghetti is ready, drain it and then quickly toss it into the serving bowl. Use tongs or large serving utensils to toss the hot spaghetti in the egg mixture until the eggs are completely cooked and coat the spaghetti strands. Now toss in the bacon and snap pea topping and toss again. Serve immediately with more grated parmesan cheese and fresh black pepper.

Swiss Chard and Bacon Tart

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market (from 10 to 2:30 on the corner of Agate and 19th) you can expect to find the following produce and prepared foods from SLO Farm and Sweetwater Farm:

• raspberries and marionberries
• snap peas (add crunch to a rice noodle salad)
• many varieties of greens, including bietola (try this saag paneer salad)
• cabbage (yummy slow cooked)
• carrots (use in carrot salad with a bite)
• fingerling potatoes (use in potato salad with a bite)
• turnips (try these with browned butter)
• onions and garlic
• tomato sauce and pesto (make pizza)
• pickles and sauerkraut
• kimchi (make a stir fry)
• homemade jams
• redcap raspberry apple sauce (serve with teff pancakes)

The fresh greens on sale at the market make wonderful tart fillings. A big bunch of Swiss chard can seem like a big commitment, but it will cook down to just the right amount of filling for one tart. I used a recipe from Heidi Swanson for rye flour pie crust, using my rye flour from Lonesome Whistle Farm. I included bacon and gruyere cheese for a take on the classic quiche lorraine, with the dark green chard leaves to offset the richness of the other ingredients. Lovely for a summer brunch. Happy Bastille Day!

Swiss Chard and Bacon Tart

tart crust (makes enough for two 9 inch tarts)

2/3 cup rye flour

1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose white flour

1/4 tsp salt

8 Tbsp butter (2 sticks), cut into 1/2 inch cubes

~1/3 cup ice water

I followed Melissa Clark's instructions for making the dough. Combine the flour and salt in a food processor and mix. Now pulse in the butter cubes until they are lima bean sized. Then add enough water for the dough to just come together when you press it between your fingers. Mold into two discs, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Roll out into 12 inch discs, drape into buttered tart pans, flute the edges and patch where you need to, and now chill again for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cover the crusts with aluminum foil and use coins as pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes, then allow to cook completely before you fill the crusts. One disk of dough can be frozen for later. 

filling for one tart

1 bunch Swiss chard

2 slices bacon

1 shallot or small onion

3 ounces gruyere cheese

3 eggs

~3/4 cup half and half

salt and pepper

1. Cut the stems from the chard leaves and dice. Chop the leaves. Dice the shallot or onion.

2. Heat a large skillet. Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch pieces and saute until the pieces have browned on both sides and rendered their fat. Reserve the bacon pieces. Use the rendered bacon fat to saute the diced chard stems and shallot or onion. Then add the chard leaves and saute until wilted.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grate the gruyere cheese and spread in the prebaked pice crust. Layer on the sauteed chard mixture. Top with the reserved bacon pieces. In a measuring cup, whisk together the eggs and then add enough half and half to bring the volume to 1 1/2 cups. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the tart filling.

4. Bake the tart for about 45 minutes until the filling is entirely set and the top has started to brown. Let rest for at least ten minutes before serving.