Garlic Scape Pesto

After discovering that garlic scapes exist, I started searching for various pesto recipes. I didn’t pick one, I just took the general ingredients and ratios and went to town. I started by slicing the 7 garlic scapes from the farm share into 3 inch pieces. 

Then I put the scapes, 1/4C parmesan cheese, and 5T of olive oil in the food processor and mixed. Whoa! Those “mild” garlic scapes are garlicky! So I discovered the trick with this type of pesto is that the greens and the garlic are all in one so it is the other ingredients that have to mediate those flavors.

(I also discovered that it is hard to keep track of my usual method of cooking. I found myself having to make little tic marks on a notecard while I was adding ingredients and then I tallied them up at the end.)

In a food processor mix:

7 garlic scapes

1/2C parmesan cheese

3/4C walnuts

1/2C olive oil

2T lemon juice

1/4C water

 

After the fact, I noticed that at least one recipe suggests mixing the cheese in after rather than processing it. I think this is true of other pesto recipes too. It isn’t what I did, but I think it is a better idea! Let me know if you try it. 

I ate this with pasta and cherry tomatoes, which was tasty. A couple of people who sampled it last night suggested it would be a really good spread for bread or crackers. (I know the picture isn't really appealing, but I wanted to show you that it turns out to be a really light shade of green.)

We had a salad on the side using that beautiful head of lettuce that is now my profile picture. Along with that tasty lettuce, I tossed in carrots, cucumber, those fresh snap peas I picked on Wednesday, scallions, and green peppers. I also added garbanzo beans, which is a salad fave for us. Our grocery store sells 7.5oz. cans, which is the perfect amount for a salad! 

(Note in the picture the beautiful salad hands that my hubby made!)