Crepes and Scapes - a belated Independence day post (part 2)

I separated these out so that you don't feel obligated to read the whole thing at once :)

So I have a huge fondness for bean dip. I mean, who doesn't - it's flavorful, creamy, and a perfect complement to salty chips. However, it was hot and sunny outside on the Fourth, so I wanted something light and refreshing for my afternoon snack. Light and refreshing aren't usually adjectives I would use to describe bean dip, but I remembered seeing a recipe from the New York Times for Garlic Scape and White Bean dip.

What on earth is a garlic scape? you might be wondering. These are garlic scapes:

They're the green tops from a garlic plant. They taste like if a scallion tasted like garlic - giving a lighter, sweeter garlic flavor with the refreshing crunch of a green. We bought ours from the Wooster Square farmer's market - they're hard to find in grocery stores. Anyhow, here's the recipe (adapted from the one I saw in the Times):

1 can cannelini beans
2-3 garlic scapes
olive oil
lemon juice
sea salt

Drain the cannelini beans and give them a good rinse in cold water to get all that salty bean juice from the can off:


Coarsley chop the garlic scapes, then add the chopped scapes and beans to a food processor. You can add as much scape as you want - if you really like garlic, add a bunch in, if you're not so sure, go on the conservative side. Give the food processor a whirr until the mixture looks like the picture below.

Before whirring:


After whirring:



I know, I know, it doesn't look all that appetizing yet. As you can see, we have a tiny-ass food processor, so I had to do the proccessing in batches.

Scoop the bean and scape mixture out of the food processor and into a bowl. Stir in olive oil, lemon juice, and sea salt to taste. I didn't measure any of this - you just have to go slow and taste along the way. If you want the dip to be creamier, add more olive oil. If it tastes too thick and you want it to taste fresher, add more lemon juice. As for the salt - well, you know what salt tastes like. Stop when there's enough. Once it tastes good to you, throw it back in the food processor and whirr it again for a few seconds, just to make sure everything is uniformly combined. Serve it with Triscuits and Wheat thins like we did, or with raw veggies or anything else you think would taste good. This literally lasted twenty minutes between five of us:



You should definiely try it - it's an awesome summer afternoon snack, super easy, and you'll really impress people by using an ingredient they've never heard of :)