Friday Night Veggie Fest (feat. Garlic Scape Hummus and Herby Tzatziki)

Fridays are always an exciting cooking night; I spend the day helping out with the harvest on Urban Tree Connection’s ¾-acre urban farm, which means that I always come home with a big bag of fresh veggies. To keep waste down as much as possible, folks who work on the farm get their pick of anything that isn’t sold at the many farm stands we set up across Philly. After that, leftovers get donated to a local food pantry, so almost nothing goes to waste. (And if anything does end up going bad, we toss it in the compost!)

Anyway, that bag of surprise veggies means that Friday night dinners feel a bit like an episode of Chopped: What’s in the mystery basket? What can you make with these ingredients? Get everything on the plate in thirty minutes or you will be chopped!

Okay, so not that last part. But getting a big batch of super fresh ingredients does provide lots of inspiration for dinner, and this Friday was no different. Garlic scapes (which can go for three or four dollars a bunch in fancy groceries) that I snapped off the garlic plants? Toss them in the blender with some chick peas and you’ll have an awesome, garlicky hummus. A whole bunch of fresh herbs? Throw in a leftover cucumber and some homemade yogurt, and you’ve got tzatziki. A beautiful bag of nasturtiums calls for a fresh salad, of course, and some quick flatbreads would be perfect with all those dipping sauces. Add in a wonderful grain salad and some quick-pickled slaw, and that big mess of salads turns into one hell of a meal.

Since this blog is all about working in and eating from an urban farm, I’m going to focus my photos and recipes on dishes that showcase ingredients that were grown right here in Philly. If you’re looking for an excellent warm grain salad, check out Yotam Ottolenghi’s kisir recipe. This is a laffa (flatbread) recipe that I like; they’re relatively easy to throw together on a whim and go great with hummus. Speaking of which…

Drew's Hummus with Garlic Scapes (serves 2)

Scapes are an awesome late spring/early summer ingredient. They’re actually the stems and buds of the garlic plant, which you need to snap off to make sure that the garlic focuses its energy on the bulb rather than the flower. Aside from being beautiful and curly, they’re deliciously garlicky—kind of like chives or scallions, but with more bite. The stem is what you actually want to eat, so trim off the buds.

1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (reserve 2 tbs of canning liquid)

6-8 garlic scapes, trimmed and cut into ½ inch segments

1 tbs tahini

2-4 tbs olive oil

Za’atar (to taste)

Paprika (optional, to serve)

Put chick peas, reserved liquid, and scapes into food processor and blitz until it forms a coarse paste (note: blending the chick peas before adding oil gives you a smoother texture).

Mix in tahini, then turn on food processor and slowly add oil until you get the desired consistency—some like their hummus super smooth, while I prefer a slightly chunkier texture.

Once the hummus is as smooth as you want it, stir in the za’atar by hand. Taste and add additional salt, if necessary, then serve with a light dusting of paprika on the surface. Hummus will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Herb Tzatziki (serves 2)

This is an easy, delicious sauce that goes well with spicy meat dishes or just slathered on some bread. I like mine with a generous amount of fresh mint, dill, and chives, but you can play with the herbs to suit your taste.

½ cup Greek yogurt (I made my own because I’m a ridiculous granola mom, but it’s not at all necessary)

1 small cucumber (or 1/2 of a large one), peeled, seeded, and chopped into ¼-inch chunks

3 tbs mint leaves, finely chopped

1 tbs dill, finely chopped

1 tbs chives, finely chopped

Salt + pepper (to taste)

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

And finally, a word on nasturtiums: they’re awesome! A lot of people are hesitant about edible flowers, but nasturtiums are delicious, high in vitamins, and very easy to grow. They look beautiful both in the garden and in a salad, and are very low-maintenance—they actually prefer to grow in poor soil. So if you’re thinking about trying to grow more edible plants (which I think is an awesome, sustainable way to use land and water), definitely consider trying out a plant that is both decorative and edible!