Garlic Spears in Beurre Noissette

Garlic Spears (also called Garlic Scapes), are the flowering spikes of elephant garlic.  They are only available for a limited time in the spring as they are trimmed off developing elephant garlic plants.  They used to be cast aside but now are available to buy.  I've seen them at farmers markets and at specialty grocers like Whole Foods.  I first had Garlic Spears a few years ago and instantly fell in love.  If I ever have room in my garden, I'm definitely setting aside some space for them.

I got three preparations for two people from the bundle.  To keep them fresh I set them in a cup of water in the fridge (a trick I learned works well for asparagus).  They are super-easy to prepare and I personally feel these are worthy of showcasing with a simple preparations.  My favorite way is a simple saute.  These come together really fast so it's usually the last thing I do before plating.

Ingredients:
~Garlic spears (heads trimmed, stems cut 2")
~EVOO (enough to lightly coat - maybe 1 tblsp max.)
~Salt & Pepper (to taste)
~1 tbsp unsalted butter
~1 pinch red pepper flakes (or lemon zest if you don't like heat)

Method:

• Prep veggies: In a bowl combine heads and stems with a small amount of olive oil and salt & pepper.
• Brown butter: Set large saute pan over medium-high heat until hot.  Pull pan off heat and add butter.  As it melts, swirl the butter in the pan to coat the pan and lightly brown the butter (Beurre Noisette).  This method may take practice to get the heat and browning right.  You WANT a hot pan but if it's too hot then the butter will burn. 
• Saute:   Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and then the oiled scapes.  Toss to coat and return pan to med-high heat.  Let saute until caramelized, flip again to get the other sides.  Total cook time for me was about 5 min. (2.5 min. per flip).  Pull them off of heat and keep warm.  Serve immediately.

garlic spears paired with grilled rib-eye.

Other ideas/uses:
Left overs make a fantastic filling for omelettes.  Roasting would be another good and simple way.  A Pesto could also be good but at this time I haven't tried yet.