Garlic Scape Pesto

I told you last week about the first bunch of veggies we got from our CSA… well, we used the garlic scapes this weekend to make a delicious pesto served with shrimp and cellentani pasta.

To be honest, we had no idea what garlic scapes even were when we got them, but according about.com.gardening, garlic scapes are “the ‘flower stalks’ of hardneck garlic plants, although they do not produce flowers.  Many gardeners simply toss their scapes in the compost, but garlic scapes are both edible and delicious.”  Well that was good to read since we had a dozen of them!

We found the recipe below and it turned out to be great and definitely a more flowery/garlic taste than traditional pesto.  If you come across garlic scapes, I would certainly recommend making this.

Rudy’s Garlic Scape Pesto
from Allrecipes.com

6 garlic scapes, chopped
1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 C freshly grated Asiago cheese
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1/4 C pine nuts
3/4 C extra-virgin olive oil (we used less, maybe 1/2C)
salt and pepper to taste

Place the garlic scapes, Parmesan cheese, Asiago cheese, lemon juice, and pine nuts in the bowl of a food processor. Drizzle the olive oil over the mixture. Blend until the pesto is a brilliant green color and smooth in texture. Season with salt and pepper.

Again, we served with grilled shrimp, all over cellentani pasta.

Enjoy!