Seasonal Pantry: Green garlic reaches Sonoma County markets

Garlic season is on its way. If you are among the many people who think garlic is garlic is garlic or who use garlic powder in place of fresh garlic, now is the perfect time to let nature expand your horizons.

Last year's garlic bulbs are still available in local markets, some of them with little green shoots poking through the bulbs' dry skin. Some cloves also are turning soft as cloves provide nutrition for the new spouts. As this natural process happens, the garlic sometimes turns a tad bitter, an indication that it is time to turn your attention to the season's new garlic.

Although this year's crop of cured garlic is still a few months away, the first spring garlic is showing up at our farmers markets, with Armstrong Valley Farm offering slender green stalks that can be confused, on first glance, with spring onions. But lean close and take a deep breath: It's garlic, before its bulb has formed.

This garlic can be grilled and enjoyed whole, or sliced into salads and braised with such greens as spinach, chard, kale, mustard greens, collards and Brussels sprouts leaves.

You can add it to scrambled eggs, omelets, frittatas, risottos and pastas, too.

Before long, garlic scapes, the unopened flower stalks of hard-necked garlics, will be ready for harvest.

These curvy stalks are delicious grilled, braised, pickled, added to stir-fry and combined with other seasonal vegetables for a spring ragout.

They also can be roasted in a hot oven, with or without fresh asparagus, and used to make a huge range of dishes, from garlic-scape aioli to “pesto,” hummus and spring garlic soups.

Garlic left in the ground will form the familiar bulbs, which can be enjoyed fresh or cured.

Fresh garlic bulbs offer a brief late spring and early summer pleasure. The membranes that separate the cloves are soft, moist and easy to peel, leaving them full of delicious juice.

Their flavor is more delicate than aged garlic, with delicious high notes and plenty of heat.

Many farmers leave garlic in the field, unwatered, until it is fully cured. Others harvest it and hang it to cure.

If you buy a fresh garlic braid, it will naturally cure if stored in a warm, dry area.

There are thousands of varieties of garlic, and local farmers grow a few dozen.

The nuances between varieties are more subtle when the garlic is fresh and become more pronounced as it cures.

A word about commercial garlic is important. First, when you buy garlic in a supermarket, ask for its source and try to buy garlic grown close to home, not in China.

Garlic bulbs should feel heavy in your hand and feel solid and firm when squeezed.

Avoid pre-peeled garlic; its flavor is compromised and it is more expensive, as you are paying for the peeling.

Garlic power and garlic salt have their place in your pantry but should not be used as substitutes for fresh or cured garlic. If you love Cajun foods, for example, you won't achieve authentic flavors if you substitute fresh garlic when garlic powder is called for in a recipe.

The results will be good but not traditional.

Make this delicate soup when you have spring garlic and garlic scapes. It is delicious by itself but makes a wonderful lunch or light dinner when you add a poached egg to each serving.

For a vegetarian version, use a mildly flavored vegetable stock in place of chicken stock. The soup can be refrigerated overnight and served chilled or reheated.

Spring Garlic Soup

Serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 bunch (10 to 12 stalks) spring garlic, white parts and 2 inches of stems, trimmed and thinly sliced

8-10 garlic scapes, trimmed and thinly sliced (see Note below)

1 shallot, minced

- Kosher salt

1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice

6 cups homemade chicken stock

1 cup, loosely packed, fresh herbs (Italian parsley, chives, thyme, savory)

3 ounces (¾ cup) grated Estero Gold, Vella dry jack or similar cheese

- Black pepper in a mill

4-6 farm eggs, optional

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, optional

4-6 slices of hearth bread, lightly toasted

Put the olive oil into a heavy saucepan or soup pot and set over medium low heat.

Add the spring garlic, garlic stems and shallot and cook gently until they begin to soften and give off their aromas, about 10 to 15 minutes. Do not let them brown.

Season with salt.

Add the potatoes, stir and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the stock, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the potatoes are tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Taste, correct for salt and remove from the heat.

Let cool for about 5 minutes and purée with an immersion blender.

Return to very low heat, add the herbs, cheese and several turns of black pepper. Heat through.

If using the eggs, poach in simmering water to which you have added 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, for just 2 minutes.

As the eggs poach, divide the soup among individual soup plates or bowls.

When the eggs are done, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon, shake off excess water and add one to each portion of soup.

When all the eggs have been poached, season the soup with a bit of salt and a bit more black pepper and serve right away, with toast alongside.

Michele Anna Jordan is author of the new “Good Cook's” series. Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com or visit her blog at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.