I had never cooked with, and perhaps never tasted, a garlic scape before I joined a CSA this year. At the last FSC Food Swap, a genius swapper had made garlic scape pesto to share. And then my CSA email had suggestions for garlic scape pesto. And then I got garlic scapes in my CSA delivery two weeks in a row and I knew it was a sign: I needed to make my own garlic scape pesto! Pesto is a perfect way to use up those scapes and it’s so easy- you just need a food processor or blender.
Garlic Scape Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups diced garlic scapes
- 1/2 cup shredded basil
- 1/4 cup slivered raw almonds
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions
Add all of the ingredients to your food processor, except for the olive oil. Once the processor is on, drizzle in olive oil approximately one tablespoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistency. I like my pesto with enough oil so that it spreads easily. Even with a bit of basil in it, this pesto is garlicky and has a pretty strong bite to it that perfectly dresses up any meal or snack. Makes about eight ounces.
You can serve it with pasta dishes, on a pizza, or smeared on freshly baked bread. Its garlicky bite goes along way, so use a light hand with it! It will store refrigerated in an airtight jar for up to one to two weeks if you make sure there is a thin layer of oil covering the pesto, but you can also freeze it for later. To freeze, either fill a plastic ice cube tray or add a little bit extra olive oil to cover and store in an airtight pesto jar. It should last a few months in the freezer. Viva la garlic scape!
What is your favorite kind of pesto? As I was cutting up the scapes, they looked a bit like green beans ad I wondered… could I make a green bean pesto? A spring onion pesto? I’m not sure, but I’ll sure give them a shot and report back. Do you have any other garlic scape recipes we should try before their season ends?
Almond, huh? Sure, I’m game! Sounds delicious – a good way to use my basil crop.
Almost anything can be made into pesto. A friend gave me some garlic scape pesto a few weeks ago and I smeared it onto a fish I was grilling. It was delicious.
Fabulous! I am a new major fan of garlic scape pesto – thanks to you!
Great post! I was excited to get garlic scapes from my CSA as well. I used them to make pesto for one of my pizzas: http://girllovespizza.com/2011/07/22/garlic-scape-pesto-and-chard-pizza-recipe/