Grey Duck Garlic
Garlic Cook's Specials
Left: Annabel wonders what recipe requires one small tomato and a field full of green garlic !
Edna and Susan can't wait for the garlic to ripen. They take home some green garlic bulbs to try:
Edna: Hello. This is Edna, reporting on my early season cooking experiences.
This week we pulled some Asian Tempest to check its maturity. (This weakly bolting hardneck will be one of the first we harvest.) We discovered the bulb to be nice and fat and just beginning to differentiate into cloves.
Creamy Garlic Mushrooms
I sliced the Asian Tempest bulb and sautéed it slowly in butter with some wild mushrooms and salt and white pepper until the mushrooms and garlic were just beginning to brown. I added a splash of cream and it was yummy. Once again I was pleased to discover what a strikingly sweet and mild flavor tone the cooked Asian Tempest provides to a dish!
I have also been using some garlic that has grown up in my yard. Last fall I tossed some tiny cloves and bulbils onto my informal compost pile of yard waste and leaves. This spring I was pleased to find a nice little patch of green garlic. Green garlic refers to the green onion-like garlic that grows from tiny cloves. It is actually just one clove of garlic that looks like a hearty green onion and has a nice fresh mild garlic taste. (If I were to save these cloves and plant them this fall, I would have a whole bulb of garlic with differentiated cloves the next year.)
However, I am enjoying using this garlic just as I might use green onions, in stir fries or added to a stew or to braising meat. I don’t know what variety of garlic I tossed out there although any variety of green garlic tends to be mild tasting.
Meantime, we are getting closer to harvesting a lovely-looking field of garlic and I am hoping to organize some taste-testing this fall. Hope to hear from you then!
Susan: I agree that garlic and mushrooms are a great combination!
I used an immature bulb of Georgian Crystal to make some of my Garlic Crab Dip. Immature green garlic bulbs have a much sharper flavor than cured ripe garlic (before it bulbs the garlic is much milder). Adding green garlic to this uncooked dip gave it an intense garlic flavor without the mellowness associated with a cured clove. I especially enjoyed the contrast between the raw green bite of the garlic and the aged cheese. It is important to use a quality cheese in this recipe to really get the full flavor. This recipe is also excellent using cured garlic cloves. I recommend using Georgian Crystal.
Susan's Garlic Crab Dip
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1-2 teaspoons mustard (I recommend stone ground mustard)
1 teaspoon white pepper
2-3 teaspoons grated Georgian Crystal green garlic bulb (can use cured cloves too!)
dash cayenne pepper
3 6-oz cans of chopped crab meat (white or red)
3 chopped green onions
3 oz any good quality aged grated cheese (I used aged English cheddar)
chopped parsley to taste
Combine all ingredients and mix gently. For the best flavor let dip set in refrigerator overnight. Serve with any cracker or chip (I am gluten intolerant so I use Nut Thins or corn chips). This strong dip can hold its own with more flavorful crackers and breads.
