My favorite farmer’s market opened for the season a couple weeks ago, so of course I made a beeline there on opening day. And among the leafy greens, vegetable seedlings for the garden, flowers, and herbs, I couldn’t resist the garlic scapes.

If you’re not familiar with them, garlic scapes are the curly shoots of hardneck varieties of the garlic plant, which are typically snipped off in spring to encourage the plants to focus their energy on developing their bulbs. But garlic scapes are delicious in their own right, with a mild, fresh garlicky flavor.

Some food sites characterize garlic scapes as vegetable, aromatic, and herb all in one. They’re more versatile than garlic cloves; their milder flavor means they can be eaten straight, so you can use them like any other green vegetable in stir fries, pasta dishes, and the like. Garlic scapes also make fantastic pesto.

I was looking for a new way to use them, though, so I did a little searching on the internet and came upon a potato salad recipe that featured garlic scapes, sugar snap peas, and scallions.

The original recipe called for a mayonnaise-based dressing, but I thought tangy Greek yogurt would complement the scapes, so I opted for that instead. The recipe is fairly forgiving—I overcooked the potatoes, left out the mint, and whisked all the dressing ingredients together instead of tossing the potatoes separately with the vinegar and salt as recommended, but the result was tasty nonetheless and makes a worthy addition to a summer cooking repertoire.

Potato Salad with Garlic Scapes, Snap Peas, and Scallions

Slightly adapted from www.finecooking.com

Ingredients

3 pounds small to medium waxy potatoes, such as red or Yukon Gold

1/4 pound garlic scapes, pods and tips removed

1 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup Greek yogurt (or mayonnaise)

1/4 cup olive oil

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 cup scallions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place the potatoes in a six-quart pot with two tablespoons salt and cover with cold water by about an inch. Place the scapes in the pot on top of the potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until the scapes are just tender, about five minutes after the water boils. Transfer the scapes to a cutting board with tongs and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

Continue to simmer the potatoes about 15 minutes more, until tender when pierced with a fork. Add the peas and simmer one-two minutes. Drain the potatoes and peas. Transfer the potatoes to a cutting board, and rinse the peas under cold water to stop the cooking.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into 3/4- to 1-inch pieces. Toss them in a large bowl with the vinegar and two teaspoons salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper. Add the yogurt mixture to the potatoes along with the snap peas, scallions, parsley, and mint. Taste and add seasoning as necessary. Chill before serving.

Emily Scace, an editor, enjoys discovering new recipes and perfecting old ones in her East Lyme kitchen. She cooks with local ingredients, including whatever is growing in her garden. She can be reached at savoringseasons@gmail.com.