Garlic a terrific spring treat

When I start working in the garden each spring, I'm always happy to see scallions emerging, and the few surviving carrots are sugar sweet, but my first pleasure is the tender shoots of new garlic.

I grow hardneck garlic for just this reason. When it bolts, the seed head matures into a round cluster of garlic bulbils, similar in appearance to large kernels of popcorn. In the fall, when I harvest my garlic, I scatter them all over. I'll leave some to become mature garlic in two years but most are a spring treat in my cooking.

Here's what you do with them: Don't try to pull them up, or they'll snap and you'll lose the most tender half - the white blanched part buried in the soil. Use a trowel and dig deep enough so they pull up easily. What you're left with resembles a miniature scallion. The length depends on how deep winter frosts and thaws buried the bulbil. I like to dig them when they're still very tender, only about an eighth of an inch in diameter, though they're usable beyond the baby stage, too.

They're tender and mild, white and a brilliant green, tasting of just a whisper of garlic. It takes a lot of them to amount to much, so cooking with them is a bit of a labor of love. One clove of garlic more than equals the pungency of a couple dozen greens but, again, this is different. Each clove of garlic produces a seed head of up to a hundred of the little popcorns, so for the price of a head of hardneck garlic, you can harvest several hundred of these young greens yourself. It's not too late to plant garlic. Give it a try and next spring you'll have the treat yourself.

With spring here it's nice to take advantage of the changing produce. Here are two recipes for tasty easy breakfasts, neither of which requires more than a few minutes prep time, and both reflect the fresh flavors of the season.

***

SPRING GREENS OMELET

Butter, to taste, about 2 teaspoons, divided

12 to 18 young garlic greens, peeled, tough leafy parts trimmed, or 1 small garlic clove, minced

2 scallions, sliced thin, including the green part

Salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon fresh basil, torn small

4 sprigs fresh baby dill

12 leaves baby arugula

3 jumbo eggs, whisked smooth

Heat an 8-inch nonstick ovenproof fry pan to medium high and melt a small pat of butter. Add the garlic greens and scallions, along with a little salt and pepper, and saute until soft, a couple of minutes or so. Remove from pan and set aside.

Meanwhile, grate the cheese and prepare your other ingredients. Whisk the eggs in a small mixing bowl along with another pinch of salt. Melt a small pat of butter in bottom of skillet and reduce heat to medium. Add the egg mixture and arrange, across the top, the scallion mixture, followed by the basil, dill, and arugula, with the cheese sprinkled on last.

As the omelet sets, tilt the pan, letting the unset egg flow onto the outer edges. When the bottom starts to brown place the omelet under the broiler to finish and melt the cheese. Fold in half and serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 209 calories, 13.6 grams fat (5.5 grams saturated, 60 percent fat calories), 18 grams protein, 3 grams carbohydrate, 424 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 359 milligrams sodium.

***

CINCO DE MAYO SCRAMBLE

1 tube (12 ounces) hot Jimmy Dean pork sausage, or your choice

1 medium sweet onion, sliced thin and roughly torn

1 large Anaheim pepper, sliced into thin rings

8 large radishes, thinly sliced

4 to 6 handfuls spinach leaves, large ones roughly torn

1 minced fire-roasted jalape?o (see note)

4 tablespoons chopped roasted red bell pepper

Salt and pepper, to taste

Cook the sausage in a large skillet on medium heat. Break it up into small pieces as you stir.

Add all remaining ingredients except spinach and turn with a flat wooden spoon, bringing up any sausage bits from bottom of skillet. Cook until onion and radish just start to turn transparent. Add spinach and stir until it just starts to wilt. Serve right away.

Note: Available from specialty shops. Substitute a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, to taste, if unavailable.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 185 calories, 14 grams fat (7 grams saturated, 66 percent fat calories), 10 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrate, 36 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 717 milligrams sodium.

Donald Clegg is a Spokane watercolor artist and inventive home cook. His column appears every third Wednesday if the month in the In Food section. He can be reached by e-mail at info@donaldclegg.com

Copyright c 2005 The Spokesman-Review
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.