Chives!
To harvest chives, you can cut the outer stems at the base of the plant with scissors or a knife (about 3″ from the bottom, so new growth can still occur). Harvest what you need for your dish, or up to 1/3 of the plant and store up to one week in the refrigerator. Check out our video on The Garden Minute for a how-to.
Photo by Breanne Heath
Toss chopped chives in with your scrambled eggs or omelets
Sprinkle on top of a baked potato for a pop of flavor
Throw the purple chive flowers into a salad as a substitute for onions- they’ve got a great mild onion flavor!
Toss a handful of chopped chives into cornbread, muffin, pancake, or scone batter before baking to make a savory treat
Try substituting chives for basil , and ricotta for Parmesan cheese in your favorite pesto recipe for an onion-y twist on classic pesto!
Chive Biscuits
4 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large bunch of chives, finely chopped (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup)
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
18 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Heat your oven to 400 degrees and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in large bowl. Stir in the chives and cheese. With a pastry cutter, work the butter chunks into the dry ingredients until the largest pieces of butter are the size of peas and the rest of the dough feels like coarse sand. Add the buttermilk and stir until large clumps form and most of the liquid is incorporated. The dough will not completely hold together yet.
Dump the dough onto a floured board and scoop it into a rectangle-ish shape. Using a bench scraper or your hands, fold the dough over on itself a few times. Incorporate as much of any loose dry ingredients into the rest of the dough as you can just until the dough mostly holds together. Pat the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.
Using a bench scraper, knife, or biscuit cutter, cut the dough into your preferred size by pressing straight down. Transfer biscuits to the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing two inches apart.
If you want to top biscuits with any herbs, coarse salt, pepper, etc. brush lightly with cream before topping. Bake until biscuits are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Mine came back beautifully this year. I harvested a bunch last week and made chive butter. The best part is that you can freeze it and use it whenever you need to saute mushrooms or other vegetables, or throw it on a steak.
Putting the purple chive flowers in vinegar for about a week makes a DELICIOUS vinaigrette! (I just use a mason jar)