Recipe: Garlic Scape Pesto

Sunday, August 21, 2022

I needed a shareable recipe in a pinch, thankfully, I have a garden! I was able to put together this garlic scape pesto from what I had growing + lying around. You can pretty much make pesto out of anything green (such as carrot tops or parsley!), so that's also a bit handy as well.

Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup almonds (or pine nuts)
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped [garlic scapes*, basil]
• 1.5 Tbsp lemon juice (or juice and zest of 1/2 lemon)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• A few grinds of black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* If you're serving this fresh, you'll want to sautee the garlic scapes first, or use more basil in the mix (50/50). If you're freezing this, you can just use fresh garlic scapes, no need for sauteeing or basil!

1. Lightly toast the nuts in a dry pan for a couple minutes, let cool.
2. If sauteeing garlic scapes: sautee in a small amount of olive oil until starting to brown on all sides, let cool
3. Combine scapes, nuts, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a food processor.
4. Pulse ~20 times, until combined, scrape the sides as needed.
5. Pour in the olive oil through the feed tube while the motor is running.
6. When the oil is incorporated, transfer the pesto to a bowl and stir in the grated cheese. If freezing the pesto, add the cheese after you've defrosted it.

July 4, 2022