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You are here: Home / Recipes / Sauces & Seasonings / Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe

0 July 19, 2011 Recipes

Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe

Though it’s probably a little too late for most of you to find garlic scapes locally, I still wanted to share how we prepared ours because it was absolutely delicious!


For those of you that aren’t familiar with garlic scapes, they’re the curling tops of garlic plants. Aren’t they pretty?

They’re found in abundance at farmers markets in late spring. As they are only available for a short time, consider picking up some extra to freeze to enjoy throughout the summer.

A word of caution is necessary though — garlic scapes are extremely potent. Just something to keep in mind if you’ve got a social engagement on the agenda for the evening!

We did find that the garlic scape pesto mellows a little after sitting, so if you find it a little overpowering at first, just refrigerate it and taste it again once it’s had a chance to sit for a few days.

This recipe is based on the one shared in the weekly newsletter that Wayward Seed Farm provides with our CSA share. I added some walnuts to the mix for an additional layer of flavor.

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Garlic Scape Pesto

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup garlic scapes, buds removed and chopped
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
  2. Refrigerate covered for up to two weeks. The flavor will mellow some as it sits.

Did you make this recipe?

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We used this pesto on grilled chicken and mixed into a simple pasta salad made with whole wheat penne and grape tomatoes. I think it would be delicious on a grilled pizza as well.

If pesto isn’t your thing, we chopped up the leftover scapes, tossed them with some colorful peppers, olive oil, salt and pepper and then grilled the mixture in a grill basket. They were divine! I found that they were very sweet and mellow when prepared this way.

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Categories: Recipes Tags: condiment recipes

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Comments

  1. Doreen says

    June 2, 2013 at 5:07 pm

    I just made a small batch from the few garlic bulbs that I grew in the Fall. Yummy right out of the blender!!

    Reply
  2. Karen says

    June 30, 2012 at 11:16 am

    Thanks for the recipe, we’ve gotten tons of scapes from our CSA and although we were putting them in stir fry dishes and salads they were piling up faster than I could use them. Made this recipe and used it to saute chicken (with extra on top) and then made grilled pesto pizzas — both were delicious!

    Reply
  3. Newsong Marketer says

    June 25, 2012 at 2:02 pm

    So what do garlic scapes go for in your area? They go by the scape in northern NY at 12 for $2.00. What say you out there in the rest for the country?

    Reply
  4. Kathy says

    June 21, 2012 at 8:15 pm

    It didn’t work for me. The scapes are stringy. I chopped them smaller before putting them in my food processor. I was really sad.

    Reply
    • Tara @ Unsophisticook says

      June 25, 2012 at 3:51 pm

      Did you cut the buds off at the top? It sounds like that may be the issue. That section does tend to dry out and could be stringy if you just throw the whole scape in.

      Reply
    • Anna says

      July 31, 2012 at 9:40 pm

      Scapes tend to be tougher, and therefore stringier, the later in the season they are harvested. They are always toughest towards the base (thick end, opposite the flower), so the scapes should be trimmed at the base, removing all scape that is not tender.

      While no amount of cooking will remove the stringiness, I do steam my scapes before pureeing, to soften them. Five minutes does the trick. Steaming also mellows some of the bite, and adds a fullness to the garlic flavour that is somewhat akin to roasting bulbs.

      I just canned two dozen jars today. I added about 1 cup of basil per batch, and it was delicious (and not too sharp). I’m looking forward to trying the results after a few weeks.

      Reply
  5. Andrea K. says

    August 12, 2011 at 11:35 am

    THANK YOU! The hubs planted 1,000 garlic cloves this year. He had tons (“1,000” is literal; “tons” is figurative :) of scapes but I had no idea what to do with them. We’ll definitely be trying this.

    Reply
  6. Georgia Pellegrini says

    July 20, 2011 at 5:41 pm

    I’m so thrilled to see scapes here! I use green garlic from the garden often but not scapes. They are wonderful and I think a pesto with them would be magical.

    Reply

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Hey there — nice to meet you!

I'm Tara: mom of 5 reasonably well-adjusted humans (well, 6 if you count my kid-at-heart husband) and one 80-lb. Weimaraner, who fancies herself a lap dog. Born and raised in Ohio (GO BUCKS!!!), my fave things include cooking + baking (obvs!), my JEEP Rubicon, the 4x4 beaches at OBX, and checking out the local craft beer scene... Learn more.

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