Garlic Scape Pesto
Garlic scapes are the stem (non-flowering shoot) of hardneck varieties of garlic and are only available for a short time in the summer - lucky for us garlic farmers must harvest them for the garlic bulbs to grow "properly," or so I've been told. They of course taste like garlic but without the intensity and heat of the blub itself. You can use them as a substitute for garlic in any recipe or they can be eaten on their own. They are quite good sauteed until soft or fresh in pesto. The pesto recipe that follows was just thrown together with ingredients I had on hand so feel free to substitute as you like, likewise I kept adjusting quantities until I had the flavor where I wanted it so feel free to adjust to your taste as well. This also means I'm not exactly sure about the quantities that went in my pesto, but what is listed below is pretty close. This is not the kind of thing that requires precision anyway. I froze some of the pesto so I can have a taste of summer come winter - if you make enough I recommend you do the same.
Ingredients:
8-10 garlic scapes
1/4 cup almonds, toasted (or your favorite nut, I think walnuts would be quite good)
1/2 cup pecorino romano, shredded (or your favorite hard Italian cheese)
1/2 cup olive oil (use the good stuff for this recipe)
Wash the scapes, slice off the ends and the bud (the buds are edible but I don't put them in the pesto - see comments), roughly chop the rest into about 1 inch pieces and transfer to a food processor. Pulse until the scapes start to break up (maybe 8-10 pulses), add the toasted almonds and cheese and pulse until combined. With the processor running add the olive oil until you achieve your desired consistency. Check the flavor and adjust as you like, remembering that the flavor will dull over time and/or when it comes in contact with heat (say from pasta). You could add salt and pepper to taste but I don't really think it needs any.
I made this the same night I made some homemade baguettes and could not stop dipping the bread in the pesto, eventually I threw some spaghetti in a pot of bowling water, cooked it according to the time on the box and tossed it with the pesto and some fresh pecorino. If you love garlic you will love this!
Bon appetit!
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteThis looks awfully good, and I'd like to try it. Just one question: when you write, "slice off the ends and the top just below the bud," are you indicating that the very tops are to be thrown away, or that they are the only part that goes into the pesto, or something else?
Thanks!
Sorry for the confusion about the buds. They are definitely edible, I just don't put them in the pesto because I think their texture is a little different from the stalks - they almost break down too much. I save them and either saute them whole or slice them and eat them raw on salads. But you could just as easily put them in the pesto.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the clarification -- much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteAnytime! I appreciate the feedback and edited the post accordingly, I don't want future readers to be confused as well! I hope yours turned out delicious!
ReplyDeleteWe made this with walnuts, olive oil, garlic scapes from our garden pecorino cheese. I thought it would be super garlicly but surprisingly, it was not! I put the scapes in salad and on pasta too. An interesting food.
ReplyDeleteJen that's great! I agree that it isn't as strong as you expect. Definitely interesting - I love the idea of eating the parts of vegetables often tossed out.
ReplyDelete