I was just commenting to someone that I sometimes feel that I cook more in summer than in winter. That seems counter-intuitive, but there’s a reason for this. With summer comes all the beautiful vegetables that you can’t get in winter (or they’re not as good in winter), and I definitely want to take full advantage.

One of those things is garlic scapes, which are available for a short while in early summer.

At the farmers’ market this week I found garlic scapes, as well as beets with beautiful lush leaves. Usually I cook beet greens with garlic, so I thought that garlic scapes would work well too. And they do.

This is such a simple recipe and it can be prepared in minutes (after making sure that the beet greens are clean of course), but it’s packed with flavor, as well as nutrients. As part of the allium family, scapes contain antioxidants and it’s said that they help bring oxygen to cells.

So this dish is not only delicious, but it’s healthy and the very essence of seasonal cooking.

Now, go find some scapes and beets and give this a try. Enjoy!

Beet Greens and Garlic Scapes

Makes 4 servings.

1 lb. beet greens (generally from one bunch beets)
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup chopped garlic scapes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Remove the tough stems from the greens and discard. Place the leaves in a large bowl and fill with water. Let the leaves sit for about 15 minutes. Scoop them out, drain the water form the bowl. Replace the leaves and fill with water again. Let it sit again then do it one more time (this is to remove dirt from the leaves).Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Add the garlic scapes and sauté until they start to brown.Add the greens (just pile them in!), salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons water. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until greens start to wilt, about 5 minutes.Stir and cook until all greens are tender, another 2 or 3 minutes. Serve hot with crusty fresh bread.