From "Where the Clam Is King", Spring 2008, Curtis Badger
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 cup low fat, low salt chicken stock
6 ounces evaporated milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
black pepper
mace
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter
12 to 15 large clams with juice, opened and coarsely chopped
2 frozen or refrigerated pie crusts, thawed
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cook potatoes, celery and carrots in clam juice and chicken stock over medium heat until done, adding water if necessary to cover. Add parsley, milk, black pepper to taste, and a dash of mace.
Melt the butter in a small skillet and stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook, stirring constantly, for one minute over medium-high heat. Add the roux to the vegetables and milk. Stirring some of the milk into the roux will thin it and make it easier to get it all out of the skillet. Simmer over low heat 10 to15 minutes to reduce volume. Add chopped clams to the potato mixture and cook until done, about 10 minutes.
Place one pie crust in the bottom of a glass pie plate. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the filling to the pie plate. (Save excess liquid to use as gravy.) Place second crust on top of filled pie plate, tucking edges of the top layer under edges of the bottom layer. Seal edges by pressing them together with a fork. Use a knife to cut four one-inch vents in top crust.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes more or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven, cool slightly and serve.
Between sheets of plastic wrap, slightly flatten chicken. In a large heavy skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of butter and the oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and sauté until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm. Pour off fat from skillet and add the remaining butter, the wine, lemon juice, and garlic scapes and bring mixture to a boil. Stir in capers and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve. Serves 4.
GARLIC SCAPE PESTO
GARLIC SCAPE PESTO
This pesto spread is delicious on pizzas or sandwiches, and you can freeze it for use year-round. The scapes make a pesto that is a pretty green color, and has a rich garlic flavor, but without a hot garlic bite. You can vary the theme by substituting or adding spinach, walnuts or sunflower seeds.
1/4 pound garlic scapes, cut into 1-inch lengths
1/2 cup olive oil (or more for desired consistency)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
salt to taste
Purée scapes and olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Stir in Parmesan and lime or lemon juice and season to taste. Serve on bread, crackers or pasta.
GARLIC SCAPE
GARLIC’S FIRST ACT
BY RITA CALVERT THE GREAT GARLIC SCAPE
At your first glimpse of a garlic scape, you might be tempted to ask, “Do I eat it or wear it?” Since these sprightly shoots are tasty to consume and beautiful to look at, although a little tricky to pronounce, the answer could be, “Both!”
So, what exactly is a garlic scape? A scape is the flower stalk sent up by members of the lily/allium family, which includes onions, leeks, chives, scallions, shallots and garlic. In the mid-Atlantic region, garlic bursts upward with a curly scape usually in mid-June. Left to grow, the scapes will ultimately straighten and then grow little seed-like bulbs. The norm has been for garlic producers to remove the scapes to enhance bulb development. This is the case at Clagett Farm in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, where chief vegetable grower Carrie Vaughn snips the scapes to grow fat garlic bulbs for members of the farm’s From the Ground Up CSA (community supported agriculture). But Vaughn, being a firm believer in “waste not, want not,” distributes the scapes as part of the CSA shares. When the garlic scapes are still in full curl, they are tender, delicious and full of all the well-documented health benefits of garlic.
Working with Vaughn to develop recipes to help CSA members make the most of their shares, I became enchanted with these curly verdant first fruits of one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet. Here are some super ideas for using garlic scapes in almost every course. The bottom of the scape below the bulge where the flower bud begins is the part you chop for recipes. Use the tops as garnish.
PEACH MELBA
PEACH MELBA
This fun summer dish incorporates all the classic elements of the dessert Peach Melba, but twists them to make a very interesting savory rendition. The cake is changed into a homemade scrapple (please don’t turn your brain off…this scrapple is unlike any other that you have tried), the peach is a fresh white peach (I prefer to use McDannell Farms in Adams County, Pennsylvania), baby arugula adds a spicy bite and the whole shebang is finished off with a wonderfully bright raspberry and lemon verbena sauce. This is perfect as a light lunch or the first course of a wonderful summer dinner. Serves 8.
Homemade Scrapple
3 smoked ham hocks or shanks (or a combination)
1 medium Spanish onion
2 carrots, peeled and rough chopped
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic
2 quarts ham stock (you may substitute good chicken stock)
2 cups yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
2 teaspoons chopped chives or spring onion
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons Old Bay
1 tablespoon freshly ground
black pepper
Place the ham hocks, onion, carrots, bay leaf and garlic clove in a large pot. Add the stock, cover and
simmer gently for 3 hours, or until the meat falls from the bones.
Strain the broth into a clean pot and reserve. Discard the bones. Chop the meat fine like minced pork barbeque.
Add enough additional broth or water to the reserved broth to make 2 quarts. Bring the broth to a simmer. Combine the cornmeal, and all remaining herbs and seasonings and gradually add to the boiling broth, stirring constantly. (Sifting handfuls of the cornmeal mixture through your fingers while whisking can help reduce lumps.) Reduce heat to medium and add 2 cups of the chopped meat mixture. Stir until everything is well mixed. Cook slowly for 30 minutes, stirring almost constantly so it does not stick to the bottom, as it will be quite thick.
After 30 minutes the scrapple is ready to pour. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and pour the scrapple to the top of the pans. Let the pans cool, cover with plastic or foil, and refrigerate overnight.
Raspberry Sauce
3 tablespoons chopped chervil
3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
3 tablespoons crushed raspberries
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons chopped lemon verbena, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh orange zest (from 2 oranges)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
Combine chervil, vinegar, raspberries, mustard, lemon juice, mint, verbena, zest, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined. (This vinaigrette will keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days.)
TO SERVE
1/4 lb small baby arugula
4 white peaches
Unmold the scrapple onto a cutting board and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. (The loaves can be unmolded and frozen but will keep refrigerated for about 1 week.) Heat ¼ inch of grapeseed or canola oil over medium-high heat in a skillet and fry the slices until brown and crusty, about 3-4 minutes each side.
Dress the arugula with very good extra virgin olive oil and sea salt (I use Maldon). Select peaches that feel almost soft to the touch, warmed by the sun and preferably not refrigerated. Cut each peach in half (peeling is optional).
On each of eight plates, spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the raspberry sauce. Lay down one piece of fried scrapple, top that with a handful of dressed arugula, and nestle the peach in the arugula. Finish with some chopped lemon verbena and dig in!
PEACH MELBA 
