In early summer, our garlic bulbs send up flowers that must be picked if the plants are to grow into fat, tasty bulbs. The best part is the flowers (scapes) are edible — and delicious at that. I experimented and found I liked the stem of the scapes best. They have a starring role in this simple, yummy stir fry dish. The only sauce is a little soy and the broth the vegetables make as you cook them. You could throw in some nutritional yeast if you wanted to thicken it all a bit.
Inspired by Deborah Madison’s stir fries in her book, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.
Makes 4 large servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil or a high heat coconut oil, divided
- 1 package firm tofu (Twin Oaks Tofu is my favorite), cut into strips
- 1 bunch spring onions (6-8), diced, bulb and green
- 1 bunch scapes (6-8), diced, discarding the flower and the thin green far above the flower
- 2 tsp. fresh ginger, peeled and diced
- 1 cup spring peas
- 1 bunch kale or spinach, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Prepare rice. Set aside.
- Sauté tofu in olive oil or butter until golden brown. Set aside.
- Toss onions, scapes, ginger and peas into frying pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté a few minutes, then add spinach or kale and cook until the greens are just wilted and the other veggies are tender.
- Add two tablespoons soy sauce and stir in the tofu. Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Scoop a dollop of brown rice onto your plate. Top with stir fry veggies and crown with a liberal sprinkling of chopped basil.