garlic scape pesto

hello summer!

and garlic scape season! 

we are growing garlic this year for you!

aren’t the swirls so fun and whimsical?

the garlic scapes are the tender flowering stems that 

are removed to ensure the growth of a healthy big bulb.  

here is the promised garlic scape pesto recipe..

a new favourite combination of flavours for us. 

the bold taste is quite grassy and fresh 

and certainly garlic forward! it’s such a gorgeous colour of green.

 this piquant pesto is a wonderful addition to your pasta, crostini, pizza, 

potato salad, sandwich.. anywhere you would use basil pesto. 

one of our guests shared that her mom uses garlic scapes in frittatas. 

i think a dollop of pesto in there too would be fabulous! 

garlic scape pesto 

10 or so garlic scapes 150 ish grams

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese 

juice of 1/2 of a lemon 

a generous pinch of salt

a few grinds of pepper

1/3 cup of olive oil 

 trim the scapes by cutting a few inches below the bud and any part of the stem that is woody.

we used almost the entire stem.. they all were quite tender.

 in a food processor add the scapes, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper. 

pulse several times to break down the stems. scrape the bowl down.

 with the processor running, add the olive oil in a slow steady stream. 

 continue to process until all the ingredients are broken down in a paste.  

 this will keep for about a week in a covered container in the fridge. 

 we put ours in varying sizes of glass canning jars. 

 also, you could freeze it in ice cube trays and transfer the cubes to storage bags. 

 we successfully doubled the recipe but also played with the ingredients

 for a couple of subsequent batches. 

we made one using pistachios.. it was so delicious!

the nuts were roasted and lightly salted. 

we also made a batch of only olive oil and scapes.. to accommodate a lactose intolerant family member. 

we ran out of lemons for the last batch and that still turned out wonderful! 

you could certainly use other nuts, and other cheeses.

no rules. 

scapes freeze well.. so if you don’t have time to make pesto, 

you can tuck them in your fridge for a rainy day.

ohh the evening light on these wild anemones. 

i love how they they match my dress! and make lovely bracelets! 

yup i am being silly!

 i hope you will get a chance to pick up some scapes  

at a farmers market this weekend.

summer hugs, 

laura

the killdeer love our garlic garden too! 

how cute is this little simple, rustic nest?