Garlic Scape Egg Soup - Justine Doiron

Ingredients

2 bundles garlic scapes about 10 sprigs
1/4 cup olive oil plus more as needed
1 small shallot thinly sliced
1 lemon for juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup white wine
2 & 1/2 cups water
4 large eggs
salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup farro uncooked
2 tablespoons chili oil optional for topping

Instructions

First, cut off the straight ends from the garlic scapes, slicing about 5 inches from the bottom of the scape. Set aside the curly sections. Finely slice the straight ends into thin medallions.
Put a dutch oven on medium heat. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil. Once the olive oil has come to temperature, add the sliced garlic scapes and the shallots. Season with salt and cook down, stirring occasionally, until the shallots have softened and become slightly translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add the juice from the lemon, red pepper flakes and stir. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, allowing the garlic scape slices to soften. Add in the 1/2 cup white wine, and let the mixture come to a simmer. Continue stirring occasionally as the alcohol cooks off, about 3-4 minutes.
Add in the 2 1/2 cups of water to the mixture. Stir to combine, then let the pot come to a low simmer. While this is happening, whisk together the eggs in a large bowl.
When the soup is at a simmer, take a small ladle of the liquid and add it to the bowl with the eggs. This is called tempering the eggs and ensures that they do not curdle. Add the liquid and whisk immediately to incorporate it into the eggs and slowly bring up their temperature. Once the first ladle of liquid is combined, repeat again with another slightly larger scoop of the soup.
Once the eggs are tempered, add them to the dutch oven. Turn off the heat and stir quickly and continuously. You do not want this to look like egg-drop soup, but instead like a smooth, opaque, emulsified and creamy soup. You will achieve this by quickly whisking in the eggs. Taste and adjust the soup with salt, pepper and lemon juice as needed.
In another pot, cook the farro to your liking. Set both this and the soup aside.
Next, bring a cast iron pan to medium-high heat. Add a generous glug of olive oil and sear the garlic scapes a few at a time until they are charred. This will take about 2 minutes per side. Season them with salt and pepper.
To plate, add a scoop of farro to a bowl, top with 2-3 curly garlic scapes. Pour the soup around the outside of the bowl. Top with chili oil, mix and serve!