Roasted Garlic Scapes

It's raining today in Seattle, one of the intermittent downpours that is actually not that common here.  Don't get me wrong, it rains a lot, but it's usually a light rain or drizzle, not this sky-opening drench.  June here is always horrible, which I think everyone forgets year to year.  May was lovely, and it will be bright and sunny in July, but for now it's cold and damp--hats and umbrellas required.

In just a couple of hours I'm heading downtown to do volunteer training for the BlogHer Food conference!  I'm going to be a 'mic wrangler' for several sessions Friday and Saturday, so if you're attending the conference, flag me down and say, "Hi!"

In between working this morning and volunteer training in the afternoon, I made a quick batch of garlic spears to go with left-over chicken curry for lunch.  I'm always on the lookout for new vegetables, both because veggies are delicious and I get bored eating the same broccoli, kale, lettuce and green beans over and over again.  Lately, my grocery store, Central Market, has been featuring garlic scapes, the flowering tops of garlic.  I'd eaten them once last year at a friends BBQ, but they were grilled (not my favorite way to eat veggies) and a bit overdone.  I decided to give them another shot when I got to sample them at the grocery store.

Garlic scapes have a light garlic flavor when cooked and cooled, and their texture reminds me vaguely of asparagus, though not as stringy.  I couldn't find a nutrient breakdown for garlic spears but nutritionally, I expect they're similar to the shoots of most vegetables, high in vitamins A and K, with lots of B-vitamins and minerals to boot.

I roasted these puppies in a 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes with a little olive oil and salt.  When they were finished I tossed them with a garlic vinaigrette to help bring out the natural garlic flavor and add a little sour to the mix.

Enjoy!