GARLIC SPEARS & SHRIMP

'Tis the start of the beautiful GARLIC SPEAR season!!! If you have never heard of garlic spears before or tried them, you are really missing out! I believe they come from any garlic (correct me if I'm wrong) and when the garlic bulb is planted in the ground, this long, green, spear like crop comes out and is surprisingly delicious!

As you can see here, these spheres can grow to be pretty long, so a few spheres will give you a good amount of dishes. The simplest way to enjoy these are roasted over a BBQ with some olive oil, salt, and pepper or simple steamed. In the recipe I am sharing today, we will be cooking them in a stir-fry style with shrimp! The tips are edible, but they can be a bit tough so we didn't include them in the dish. The white sections are the most tender.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 bundle of Garlic Spears (10-12 spheres)

1/2 lb of wild shrimp (these are size 26/30)

Ginger

Quinoa flour (or cornstarch would work)

Fish Sauce (to taste)

Soy Sauce (to taste)

Roasted Sesame Oil (to taste)

White Pepper Powder

WHAT TO DO:

1) Wash garlic spears and cut into 2-3 inch pieces (the white part of the bottom is the best part so don't throw that away!)

2) Clean and de-vain shrimp. You can shell them if you want to as well. Marinate shrimp with soy sauce, sesame oil then coat in the Quinoa Flour. You don't need a lot of seasoning, just enough to coat.

3) With the olive oil or avocado oil, coat a non-stick pan/pot and add a few slices of ginger. Add shrimp and cook till it turns pink.

4) Remove Shrimp

5) Add Garlic Spears to the same pot and sauteé for 5-7 minutes* over high heat. Add some Fish Sauce to the dish for seasoning (you can also just use soy sauce again or a bit of salt).

6) Put the Shrimp back in the pot and stir with Garlic Spears for another minute. Add some White Pepper Powder for a bit of spice.

Servings: 3-4

*Hint* Garlic spears are very strong and pungent when uncooked, you will be able to tell if it isn't cooked well if there is a strong bite. However, you also don't want to overcook it so don't keep them in too long. 

And the last direction is to enjoy! Garlic Spears have a slight garlic flavor and the stems are extremely sweet, especially the whiter parts towards the ends. They are a definite treat for this time of year. You can substitute the shrimp for any other type of meat and you can keep it as plain and simple with the seasonings. The main thing is to not add too much flavoring--you really want the natural flavor of the Garlic Spears to shine.

Readers, have you ever had Garlic Spears before? Any recipes to share? I'd love to know!