Garlic spears

I first stumbled upon these rather threatening looking members of the onion family years ago at Pike Place Market. They looked so odd, so I just had to try them. They quickly became a favorite in our household for the fleeting few weeks that is their season in late May/early June. Mostly, my husband and I just grill them dressed with nothing more than olive oil, salt and pepper. Their grassy, asparagusy crunch is always a delight and one which marks spring's true entrance for me. The real garlic flavor comes when you bite into the beautiful flower/bulb like tops. It is almost like a whole roasted garlic clove encased within a tender green envelope. Soft without being mushy, garlicy without being overpowering, garlic spears are one of my "perfect" vegetables.

Garlic spears are actually the immature shoots of the elephant garlic plant. The farmer apparently cuts off the top 12-14 inches of the plant above ground (at the expense of the head of elephant garlic below, I wonder?). I have occasionally found these garlic spears at my local supermarket, so I don't consider them to be too rare. However, I was pleasantly surprised this week when I discovered "garlic tops" at the farmers market. These too, are the tops of the garlic plant, but because these come from just your regular garlic variety rather than the elephant kind, their tops are scaled down as well. The ones I found were a beautiful mess of slender, dark green stalks which curved into tremendous loop-de-loops at the top. They also had a flower bulb near the tip, but it was so immature and small that it was barely even noticeable.

What to do with all of this garlic goodness? Well, it was (what do you know) another dreary Saturday here in Seattle. As the weather didn't warrant firing up the grill which is my first instinct with garlic spears, I chopped them all up and made a soup. It was wonderful. Thickened slightly with some potatoes, the subtle garlic flavor was just enough to be noticeable while still allowing the other grassy undertones of the garlic spears to shine as well. For this soup I had two bunches of the thin garlic tops and one bunch of the thicker garlic spears. I chopped up every part of the smaller tops but saved the beautiful, flower-like tips of the garlic spears and used them as a garnish in the soup.

Garlic-Spear Potato Soup (serves 3-4)

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large, sweet onion, thinly sliced into discs
1/4 cup vermouth
4 cups (about) vegetable broth
2 medium-sized Yukon potatoes, peeled and quartered
2-3 bunches garlic spears, stems cut into 1 inch pieces and tops reserved
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup half and half
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add onion discs and cover pan with a lid. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until bottoms of onions begin to brown and onions appear soft and cooked through. Take off lid at this point and increase heat to medium. Stir the onions frequently until evenly browned and all of their liquid has evaporated.

Once the onions are evenly caramelized, add the vermouth to de-glaze the pan (stir constantly until all the little brown bits have come off the bottom). Add the broth and potatoes, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Then add the garlic spears and simmer for another 30 minutes or until all vegetables are very tender. (Add more broth or water to the soup during this process if it does not seem to have enough liquid. There should be enough liquid to fully cover the potatoes.)

For garlic spear tops, preheat oven to 350. Toss tops with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the bulbs are soft and the tips are slightly charred or crunchy. Set aside.

Puree the soup until smooth, then return to low heat. Add half and half, thyme, and more broth (if necessary) until desired consistency is attained. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

After ladling soup into bowls, arrange garlic spears in the center of the bowls, garnishing with fresh flowers or more fresh thyme if desired.