So this is my first year really doing the farmer's market thing. I've been to them in the past, but I've never considered using them as my main grocery source. This new commitment came out of some combination of post-college idealism and a genuine distrust of the mass-market food industry. Perhaps its part of my evolving politics, the desire to get back to American food, grown in America, by Americans and not by corporations. Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania – I live between states that produce tons of varied and delicious produce (not to mention locally raised meat, which is where this change really came from), so why not actually consume it? So I did. I changed my habits completely, and as a result this week I've got myself some green garlic.

Green garlic is young garlic, garlic that is plucked from the ground before it has matured into the pungent bulbs we know and love so well. As a result, the flavor is sweeter and milder, ranging from the gentleness of a leek in the green stalk to the familiar bite of mature garlic right at the base. I'm not one to try to blend that kind of exquisite flavor into a mish-mash of a dish, so I went as simple as I could.

You need two pots for this: one for boiling the pasta, and a large saucepan for the garlic, deep enough to be able to mix the pasta into the sauce on the stove. Because my kitchen – and subsequently my stove – is so incredibly small (and because almost all my burners are crooked), I made the pasta before starting the sauce. If you have more room, or more than one flat burner, I'd recommend cooking pasta and sauce simultaneously.

Now, I understand that not everyone keeps bacon fat around. I make breakfast for friends on a fairly regular basis, and fat does not go down the drain, so I happen to have a can of bacon fat in the fridge. The fat's great for adding bacon-y goodness to anything, and I love me some bacon-y goodness. If you don't have it, don't want to use it (oh, come on, low-fat cooking is so passe), or don't like it, by all means leave it out.

Please to enjoy:

Green Garlic and Angel Hair

2 medium or 1 large stalk(s) of green garlic
3-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon bacon fat (optional)
1/3 cup of dry white wine
1/2 tablespoon butter (or a decent-sized pat)
Parmesan cheese, grated (quantity to your taste)
Salt
Angel hair pasta

Salt your pasta water well and put on to boil. While the pasta water is coming to a boil, dice your garlic medium-fine. Heat the olive oil in your saucepan over medium heat and add the bacon fat. Heat bacon fat until the it has melted completely but before the oil is so hot it would fry. Add your pasta to what is now surely boiling water. Add the butter to the garlic. Let the garlic cook until it is soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes.

Your pasta should be done by now -- drain, toss lightly with oil, and cover with a towel. Turn up the heat on the sauce to medium-high until you hear a pronounced increase in the volume of your sizzle. Add the wine and a hearty pinch of salt and stir around until its well combined with the garlic bits and garlicky oil in the pan. Turn off the heat and stir in a small handful of the cheese. Pour the drained pasta into the pan and toss to coat. I happen to have an herb garden and topped my pasta with a handful of parsley and some more parmesan.

The garlic turns out incredibly sweet, delicate, and recognizably garlicky. The salt is important to balance out the sweetness, but it was a real treat the get to play with the aroma of garlic without the bitterness or bite that so often happens when your stove is as unreliable as mine.

All I had when I made this was one medium stalk of green garlic, and so my pasta turned out very mild. Another stalk would have been perfect to get the flavor up to the intensity I wanted. If you’re not the biggest garlic fan, but want to try its milder, younger self, you can go ahead and use less than the amount in my recipe, or you can feel free to use more. Toss in some minced clams and it’s a fantastic twist on linguine with clam sauce. Add a couple egg yolks and you’ve got green garlic carbonara. Green garlic is a versatile ingredient, but it is best when allowed to shine at the center of the dish. It’s not a vegetable to be wasted in the background.