Green garlic in your veg box?

Spring is definitely here, no doubt about it. All of a sudden, the garden has spring into life, and the veg box is full of more interesting stuff, and I haven't had a swede for weeks...

Two weeks on the trot, we've had green garlic on the veg box. Looking like garlic, but not, with the 'scapes' - the long green leafy bits, still intact, smelling beautifully of garlic, yet not as strong. 

Imagine walking through a wood perfumed with wild garlic, and you get the idea. 

When you cut through the bulb, you can see where the garlic cloves are forming.

I'm not sure if you would eat green garlic raw, although I expect that sliced finely and mixed in with a salad, it would be pretty good. Gently cooked, though, it imparts a wonderful flavour to dishes.

On Saturday  evening, I sliced up the 2 bulbs, with their scapes, and cooked them gently in a good knob of butter till they were soft. 

I mashed them into potato with some milk, for a gorgeous garlicky mash to go with a roast chicken. Unfortunately, we were all so hungry that it all got eaten up with no time for photos.

Last week, the garlic starred in a quick and easy chicken dish that worked brilliantly. It also used up the rest of the courgettes which had served so admirably in the Blackcurrant Slice. Fortunately, unlike the mash, I had time to take a photo of the finished dish...

Chicken with bacon, courgettes & green garlic

6 rashers of streaky bacon, chopped into small pieces
10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 bulbs of green garlic, with scapes
200ml chicken stock
1-2 courgettes, cubed
1 lettuce, trimmed and sliced
2 tbsp sour cream

Gently dry fry the bacon in a large pan until the fat is released and the bacon starts to brown. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and add the chicken to the pan, adding a little olive oil if the bacon didn't release much fat.

Brown the chicken pieces, then move to one side of the pan and add the sliced garlic to the pan, and cook for 30 seconds or so till the garlic scapes go bright green. Return the bacon to the pan and pour on the chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then cover and  simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the courgette to the pan, return the lid and cook for another couple of minutes, before adding the lettuce, then cook for 4 minutes or so till the courgette is cooked and the lettuce has wilted.

Check the chicken is cooked through, stir through the sour cream, and season if necessary.

Serve with wild rice.

 
I'm linking this up to Simple and in Season, hosted by Ren Behan a great place to find more seasonal inspiration.