Garlic Scape Pesto

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Garlic scapes!  Ever so many!  If you aren’t familiar with scapes – they are the twisty stalk and flower bud of alliums.  Removing them from the garlic (or shallots, etc) before they flower helps form a larger head of garlic.  But you needn’t compost them – they are edible and nutritious – a good source of manganese, selenium and vitamin B6.

Scapes will add a zippy garlicky bite to all sorts of dishes.  Folks on my FB page have suggested sauteing them with cracked black pepper and olive oil, or pickling them (definitely going to try that.  I bet they will make nice crisp lactofermented pickles).  My favorite way to utilize this early summer crop is in pesto.  So, here’s my recipe:

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Garlic Scape Pesto

15-20 garlic scapes, washed

1 cup pine nuts (you can also use cashews, pistachios or hazelnuts if you prefer)

1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano, or other hard Italian cheese

large pinch of ground black pepper

2/3-1 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

Directions: Place first four ingredients in food processor, and pulse until well combined (scapes can be a little stringy, like asparagus, so you may wish to keep pulsing to finely process them into a smoother pesto).

With the processor running, drizzle in olive oil until desired consistency is reached.  Salt to taste.

Toss with pasta or sauteed veggies (pea shoots or wilted kale are a good choice.)

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Enjoy!

 

2 thoughts on “Garlic Scape Pesto”

  1. Oh I can’t wait to get my hands on our garlic scapes…soon. We usually make pesto too, but on occasion we have done a little saute and love them that way too. Enjoy yours!

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