For me, every Saturday from June till October is Farmers Market day. I look forward to exploring the stands set up in the park down near where we live, bags and cash in hand, and curiosity leading the way. Of course, I have my favourites that I’m always on the lookout for: herbs, tomatoes, bitter greens, all the stone fruits, peas, beets, the list goes on and on…
Now every week I also try to include one thing I’ve never really cooked with, so that I can get to know it better. Ask it out on a blind date, see if we click, you know 😉 Last year I tried sorrel for the first time. We need to revisit that one, it didn’t go over well with Jim. But I’m not giving up.
This past week I picked up a big bunch of garlic scapes from my favourite veggie stand at our Humber Bay Farmers Market. I had tried them last year for the first time, but really only chopped them up and added them to a stir fry. This time I wanted to do something more ‘official’ with them. So I perused Pinterest. Most ideas seemed to revolve around pesto. Sure, pesto is an obvious choice, but also slightly a cop-out (no offence to all of you who just finished making batches of scape, or basil, or pea, or mint, or kale etc pesto)
But then I found a lovely recipe on The Messy Baker. She had a soup recipe that seemed so easy and yet full of flavour. I pulled it up and went over the ingredients. I made a few changes to it, like using my kefir creme fraiche instead of whipping cream to add a rich creaminess to it, omitting the lemon juice since the creme fraiche had a tang, adding baby potatoes to the simmering stock, and using feta as a final flavour zap instead of the parmesan that she used. And I saved the tops of the scapes and grilled them off to be an additional flavour, texture and garnish. I’m sure that if I didn’t have the creme fraiche, potatoes, or feta in the house, I would have proceeded with her recipe just as she wrote it: it looked that yummy.
I’m so happy with how it turned out. Jim ate the whole bowl without coming up to say a word. That’s always a good sign. I hope that you guys can find scapes where you are, or that the season hasn’t ended for them where you are. If that is the case, please remember this recipe, and visit next year to try it!!
Don’t walk by all the strange produce in the market stalls, you may be walking past the new love of your life (tastebud-wise that is!)
Love Jen
Farmers Market Garlic Scape Soup
A silky, vivid soup showcasing summer's fleeting scapes, and garnished with grilled scape flower tops and feta cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 lb garlic scapes cut into 2 inch pieces, reserving the pieces with the flowers for garnish (about 4 cups)
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 8 mini yellow potatoes scubbed, or 2 medium yellow fleshed potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- generous grind of black pepper
- generous pinch of kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp chilli flakes or more if you like!
- 2 tbsp fresh basil chopped
- 1/4 cup creme fraiche
- 1/2 cup freshly crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
-
In a saucepan, gently heat the stock and potatoes over medium while you cook the scapes.
-
COOK THE SCAPES
Heat the oil in a large, heavy sauce pan over medium and cook the scapes (not the flower tops) for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, or until they soften. The timing will vary depending on how thick the scapes are. Add the salt, pepper and chili flakes and cook for a minute or two.
-
SIMMER THE SOUP
Pour the hot stock and potatoes over the scapes and cook with the lid askew, for 15 to 20 minutes or until the scapes are fully cooked and losing their bright green colour but have not turned dead-broccoli grey. Remove from the heat.
Now add the chopped basil and stir through.
-
Working in batches, purée the soup until smooth. You need to use a standard blender since an immersion blender won't get the scapes smooth enough. Scapes can be a bit pulpy, so purée the soup well. Season to taste with more salt and pepper if needed. Keep the soup warm over low heat until you're ready to serve. Don't cover with lid totally to avoid the soup turning grey.
-
WHILE THE SOUP IS SIMMERING (AND BEFORE THE BLENDING STEP) GRILL THE FLOWER TOPS
Place the tops in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and chili flakes
Heat a saute pan or grill pan over medium high heat.
When hot, grill the flowers on both sides until softened and just starting to char, about 4 minutes a side. Set aside.
-
TO SERVE
Before serving, add the creme fraiche to the soup pot and stir to combine.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with crumbled feta and some scape flower tops.
Recipe Notes
This is a fabulous soup. Despite the name, the flavour is softer, not harsh at all. It has more of a chive undertone. So no garlic breath to worry about!
If you simply can't find scapes where you are, this recipe would work perfectly well substituting asparagus for the scapes. If you choose to make this with asparagus, add two garlic cloves to the asparagus pieces about 1 minutes before they are ready for the seasonings.
Hi! Just came across this recipe, sounds delicious. Can you serve this soup cold?
Hi Eleanora. Love your name! Hmmm, I’ve never served it cold. But if you make it and let it chill, taste it and let me know! heehee! Love Jen
So yummy! My kids loved it too. Regarding eating it cold, I ate the leftovers cold for lunch the following day (today!). It was still delicious but the potato base made it very thick and pasty when chilled. It didn’t bother me at all but if I was going to serve it cold to company or for a family meal I’d add some more liquid and adjust the seasonings accordingly.
Hi Jeff, that is exactly what I have done as well. As with any soup that has some sort of thickener, it will thicken as it cools in the fridge. Just adding a bit of stock, water etc is all that is needed. And like you said, a bit more seasoning for the extra liquid. Yay! Love Jen
Could I use sweet potato instead of the white yellow potato
Hi Doris, you can, but it will change the flavour quite a bit. The potato is more there for thickening, since it really takes on the flavour of the other ingredients. Once you use the sweet potato, it will compete with the scapes. Hope this helps, Jen
Just made this soup with homegrown scapes and basil. So simple to make and a joy to eat.
Hi Anna Marie, Yay, so happy you found this recipe and liked it. It’s an unassuming little recipe, but oh so tasty! Have a lovely summer, Love Jen
I have yet to see proper scapes on the garlic I planted! However, I discovered a rapidly spreading patch of garlic chives and wonder if I could use them like the garlic scapes? They are very mild so would you increase the amount and by how much?
Hi Barb, Yes I would that they would work fine. However since I haven’t used them, I can’t be sure as to the ratio. I’m sure if you started with less and you didn’t find the flavour pronounced enough, you could add more in as you go. Let me know how it works. Love Jen
I grow garlic and have an abundance of scapes, always looking at more recipes and soup sounded good. I have all of these ingredients and plan to add some asparagus as it’s getting motley about now from my garden. I’m also thinking of serving it cold with the warm grilled flowers and asparagus tops finished with a dollop of creme fraiche. I love lemon so probably also add a wedge as garnish. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Hi Debbie, Your twists sound lovely. Please let me know! Love Jen
I really LOVE this recipe!!! It’s perfect for those scapes that I’ve let go just a little too long, so they’ve started to get tough and woody. I have to puree in batches with plenty of broth to avoid overwhelming my blender, but it works! I don’t puree the potatoes because my family prefers a little texture. So my soup ends up being a chunky potato soup with a green broth base, but it’s still plenty creamy, as I boil the potatoes in the scape puree. Thank you for this recipe! Other than grilling tender scapes, this is my FAVORITE way to use my scapes!
I cook my scapes (step 2) and freeze them in 4 cup portions, then I can pull them out in the winter time to make a hearty potato scape soup on cold winter days!
Thanks for this, I will do the same going forward!
Hi Alisa, Scapes are such a unique vegetable, I’m glad I could extend your repertoire with one more recipe. Love Jen
This was a great recipe. I just harvested a ton of scapes! Thank you!
Hi Naomi, so happy to hear!! Enjoy, it really is a lovely soup. Love Jen