If you live in the city, eating local may be as simple as taking a walk around your neighborhood. That’s what I was doing when I spied the bountiful stalks of garlic scapes right outside my garage. So, my neighbor and I set to foraging, but left a few to flower so they continue their spread next year.
I made a delightful Garlic Scape Pesto with my foraged find!
How to Prepare Garlic Scapes
Unless you have experience with them, you probably have no idea what to do with scapes. When I first saw them at my farmers market years ago, I definitely had to do some research. After trimming the flower, you want to snap off the end where it begins to get woody—like you would do with asparagus. (See above.)
You should use the tender middle part for your scape pesto. (See above.) If you want to tame the bite of the garlic a bit, you can always blanch them first to mellow out the scapes.
Garlic Scape Pesto
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 10-12 Garlic Scapes
- 1/4 cup Pine Nuts
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Parmesan or Asiago Cheese
- 1/2 cup Basil Leaves
- 1 Lemon
- 1/4 tsp Salt to taste
Instructions
- Put chopped up scapes, basil, nuts and cheese in food processor. Pulse for about 30secs in short bursts.
- While blending, slowly drizzle in first olive oil and then the juice of one lemon. Blend to desired consistency.
- Add salt to taste.
