Garlic Scape Compound Butter

The mildly garlicky and herbal flavor of garlic scapes adds complexity to a classic compound butter.

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Editorial Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
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Updated September 05, 2024
A piece of compound butter melting on a piece of steamed fish

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Why It Works

  • Blanching the scapes before mincing softens them somewhat, sets their vibrant green color, and tempers their raw garlic flavor.

Compound butters are one of those old-school French preparations that don't get much play these days outside of bistros and steakhouses, but there's no good reason not to make them at home—they're quick and easy and nice to have on hand to spruce up simple dinners. This version is a riff on the classic lemon-and-parsley beurre maître d'hôtel, but here with the addition of garlic scapes to add a subtle depth and funk.

Garlic scapes tend to hit markets in the late spring and can last into the summer: They are the shoots the garlic bulbs send up that, if left on the plant, would open into a flower, just like a tulip or daffodil. Farmers remove them in order to produce more delicious garlic, but the scapes themselves are edible, with a more mild garlic flavor that's layered with a green herbaceousness, much in the way a scallion or chive is oniony but also herbal.

There are just a couple key things to know about working with the scapes for this compound butter. First is that you need to trim the scapes of any dry or woody parts, usually at both the cut end and the bud end. Exactly how much you need to trim will depend on the age of the scapes, so do your best to feel it out and remove anything that seems particularly fibrous and tough. In the end, it's better to remove more than accidentally let some overly woody bits get into the food.

The second is that the garlic scapes need to be blanched first before mincing and kneading them into the butter. Because the compound butter is not going to be cooked after it's formed, you don't want any raw, slightly tough bits of scape in it (yes, even after trimming, the scapes can still have some bite to them). Blanching is as simple as boiling the scapes in salted water until they just become tender; then you'll want to plunge them immediately into an ice bath—my own tests on blanching found that the ice bath step is the single most important for setting a fresh green color and flavor in the vegetable.

A hand placing a thick, round slice of compound butter on a steamed fish fillet.

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Some of you may notice, and be annoyed, that my instructions for this compound butter involve hand-mincing of both the parsley and the garlic scapes. Can't you, after all, use a food processor or blender for this? The short answer is yes, you can, though you have to be careful not to burn out the motor (in particular when using a blender with something as thick as butter; this shouldn't be a risk with a good food processor), and also that all the pieces of garlic scape and parsley get minced finely enough, as the machines have a way of leaving some chunky pieces behind. I personally find hand-mincing to be easier and faster, and it saves me having to clean up blender and food processor parts.

Once the compound butter is fully mixed, you can roll it up into a log and chill it to firm it back up. The log can then be sliced into rounds set on top of a steamed, roasted, or grilled piece of meat or fish, tossed with cooked vegetables, spread on bread, or added to a hot bowl of soup as an easy and rich garnish.

August 2022

Recipe Details

Garlic Scape Compound Butter Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Cook 10 mins
Chilling Time 30 mins
Total 45 mins
Serves 16 servings
Makes 1 cup

Ingredients

  • 1/4 pound (113g) garlic scapes (about 6 scapes), woody ends trimmed and scapes cut into roughly 4-inch lengths

  • 1/4 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems (1/2 ounce; 14g)

  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) fresh lemon juice

  • 1/2 pound unsalted butter (2 sticks; 226g), softened (see note)

  • Kosher or sea salt

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, prepare an ice bath. In a pot of salted boiling water, blanch scapes until just tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain, then immediately plunge scapes into ice bath, stirring to chill rapidly. Drain scapes, transfer to a work surface, then mince finely along with the parsley.

    Minced garlic scapes on a cutting board

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine minced scapes with parsley, lemon juice, butter, and a large pinch of salt. Using a clean or gloved hand and/or a silicone spatula, mash until all ingredients are thoroughly and evenly incorporated into the butter. Season with additional salt, if needed.

    Four Image Collage. Top Left: Unmixed butter and minced garlic scapes in a metal bowl. Top Right: A hand seasoning the mixture with salt. Bottom left: Overhead view of a lemon being squeezed into mixture. Bottom right: a close up of compound butter

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  3. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on a work surface. Scrape compound butter onto the middle of the plastic wrap, patting it into a rough log shape, about 2 inches thick, as you roll the plastic around it. Holding the plastic by its ends, spin to twist the ends and tighten the butter into an even log, using your hands to gently give the butter an even cylindrical shape. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill until firm, about 30 minutes, before slicing into rounds and using as desired.

    Four Image Collage. Top Left: Compound butter mixture spread on plastic wrap on cutting board. Top Right: hands rolling mixture in cutting board into a log. Bottom left: finished log of plastic wrapped compound butter. Bottom right: Close up of a slice of compound butter on a knife.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Notes

While we typically call for unsalted butter in recipes to better control how much salt is eventually added, this is one case where a salted butter would work very well; if using salted butter, simply omit the additional salt.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Wrapped compound butter may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for several months.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
104Calories
12gFat
1gCarbs
0gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories104
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g15%
Saturated Fat 7g36%
Cholesterol 30mg10%
Sodium 76mg3%
Total Carbohydrate 1g0%
Dietary Fiber 0g1%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 3mg13%
Calcium 10mg1%
Iron 0mg1%
Potassium 28mg1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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