Garlic Scape Pesto
When I make garlic scape pickles, part of the process is removing the bud end of the scape. Instead of disposing of these ends, make it into a pesto. From 2 pounds of garlic scapes, the left over bud ends usually weigh about ¼ of a pound, so I made this recipe to accommodate the leftovers. It can easily be altered to accommodate more or less scapes or it works equally well with the entire garlic scape. Garlic scape pesto can be added to any pasta sauce. It can be added to mashed potatoes, used as a base for pizza sauce or mixed with mayonnaise and spread on sandwiches or on crackers or used as a dip for French fries. I found that the garlic flavour is quite pronounced, so a little goes a long way. Fill ice cube trays with the garlic scape pesto and freeze it. It’s an easy addition to all of your favourite dishes that call for garlic. The possibilities are endless. Chop the scape ends into 2 inch pieces before adding them to the food processor for the pesto. Blending the scapes into a paste takes some work. Most recipes for garlic scape pesto don’t mention how much blending is involved but I had to puree it over and over to get it to a pesto consistency.
Ingredients
¼ pound garlic scapes
1 large yellow onion (chopped))
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 - 3 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Blend garlic scapes, onion, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, lemon juice and the Italian seasoning together in a food processor until smooth.
Drizzle the olive oil into the blender while it is runner and continue to blend until it is completely mixed.
Place in a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste.
