If ‘loving the farmers’ market’ was a personality trait, that would be me in spades! There is something so fun and gratifying about connecting with farmers, choosing produce to bring home that they picked the morning of your shopping trip, and heading home with a basket full of fresh food without all the plastic that can come from shopping at a traditional grocery store. (Though I do have some tips on how to reduce that traditional shop’s plastic!) I love seeing what the farmers bring to market each week, and one of my favorite treats is a handful of garlic scapes to make into garlic scape pesto!
Quite a few of you over on Instagram were wondering what exactly a garlic scape was and what I do with them. Garlic scapes are the flower stalk of a ‘hardneck’ garlic plant. These twisty neck spring up in early to mid-summer with a bulb on top and taste like garlic but are a bit spicier! I love scapes in anything from scrambled eggs to stir fry dishes, but my favorite way to eat them is by making garlic scape pesto! It is quick, simple, and after you grab your bunches of garlic scapes from the market you’ll have the rest of the ingredients at home!
Garlic Scape Pesto Ingredients
(This can be easily halved)
12 (about 200g) Garlic Scapes
1/2 Cup Walnuts
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
Juice of 1/2 of a Lemon
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Ground Pepper
Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe
To prep your garlic scapes trim them just underneath the bulb. You can also trim the very bottom of the scape if you feel that it is too woody!
Add your garlic scapes, walnuts, parmesan, lemon, salt, and pepper into a food processor and pulse until all of the ingredients are broken down and well incorporated.
Slowly add olive oil as the food processor is running until you reach your desired thickness. I use the whole 1/2 cup of olive oil because I like a pesto that is easily spreadable, but if you’d like it to hold its shape you can use less.
Enjoy fresh in pasta, on crostini, pizza, or roasted veggies (the opportunities are endless!) Just make sure to be sparing with this gorgeous condiment- it really packs a punch! This recipe makes about 14 ounces of pesto, so I keep some fresh in my fridge in an airtight container, but this freezes incredibly well for up to a year! I like to freeze it in tiny mason jars or in ice cube trays so I can defrost a small bit at a time!
I’d love to know what your favorite way to enjoy garlic scapes is- pop over to my Instagram page and let me know!
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