Last Saturday, my friends and I stopped into a wonderful handmade pasta shop, Pastaio, that just moved to a bigger, more centrally located shop in Gloucester MA. While we were oohing and aaaahing over the ravioli, bucatini, squid ink spaghetti, and more, my friend Kim remarked that she had just made garlic scape pesto, and the handmade pasta would be a perfect accompaniment for it.
Garlic scapes are somewhat new to me. I’ve seen them at the farmers markets over the past few years, but I hadn’t tried them myself.
If you’re new to garlic scapes, they’re the stalk of the “hardback” variety of the garlic plant that grows above ground, After the first leaves appear, a stalk grows up, straight at first, and then it curls on itself. Most gardeners and farmers cut them off because if they’re left on the plant, they take up energy that the plant could use to form a bigger garlic bulb underground.
Although some people toss the scape onto the compost pile, it is edible and versatile. When the scape first begins to grow, it’s at its most tender and can be used raw, cut into salad or eggs like scallions. The longer the scape grows, it becomes stronger and more fibrous.
The garlic scape season is short. Depending on the climate where you are, they start to appear in late spring and they may last into early summer.
When I was in Boston on Tuesday, I stopped at the farmers market, and I bought a large handful of garlic scapes to try making garlic scape pesto myself. I realized a couple of months ago, that over the years, I’ve become sensitive to garlic. I can’t eat too much of it at once, or it makes me sick. So I thought garlic scapes might be something I could tolerate better.
I decided to make garlic scape pesto for dinner last night. I looked at a few recipes, but ultimately decided to wing it and create my own recipe. I used the basil and one Egyptian onion from my own garden along with the garlic scapes I bought.
I was very happy with the results! Here’s my recipe:
Ingredients:
about 15 garlic scapes
a cup of loosely packed basil leaves
one Egyptian onion (the long green thing in the photo above; you can skip this altogether, or you can substitute a garlic clove)
2/3 cup walnuts, pine nuts or sunflower seeds
2/3-3/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cup parmesan cheese
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
- Remove the dried looking, stringy end of the scapes (see below) and discard. Cut the scapes in half.
- Blanche the basil leaves and garlic scapes with boiling water. The basil leaves will wilt quickly, so remove them to an ice bath. Let the scapes soak in the hot water for a couple of minutes, and then add to the ice bath. Blanching helps the basil not turn brown and it removes the extra pungency from the scapes.
- Put the garlic scapes in a food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds.
- Add the nuts and pulse for another 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl.
- Add the olive oil in a stream as the motor runs on high for about 30 seconds.
- Add the Parmesan cheese and pulse till combined, a few seconds.
- Add the basic and the lemon juice and process the pesto till it’s as smooth as you’d like. My garlic scapes were fairly stiff and fibrous, so I processed the pesto at the end for a couple of minutes to try to break down the scapes further.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Although I have quite a few steps in the recipe, the pesto came together in minutes.
Pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days, or it can be frozen for a few months.
Tonight, I used dried pasta, linguini, that I had at home. Wish I had thought ahead and driven to Gloucester to get fresh pasta to go with it. But it was really good anyway.
Garlic scape pesto looks similar to basil pesto, but it is a lighter green and it’s thicker because scapes are way more fibrous than basil leaves. If you need to, you can add some pasta water to the pasta after you’ve tossed it with garlic scape pesto if the pesto seems too thick.
The garlic scape pesto doesn’t have the strong garlic taste that even regular basil pesto can have if it contains a few cloves of garlic. But it does have some garlic taste. The lemon juice gives the pesto a real brightness, especially when you taste the garlic scape pesto on its own. Served on pasta, the pesto is mild but flavorful. Delicious. I had a “green meal”: I served the garlic scape pesto pasta with roasted asparagus and roasted kale.
I think I’ll serve again on Friday night and see what Jeff thinks. I’m glad I tried it, and I’ll make more.
Have you tried garlic scapes? Is garlic scape pesto something you would try?
Allison, I have never heard of Garlic Scape before. But your dinner sure looks good. I don’t do the cooking I did when the kids lived at home or since Dick passed. BUT, I need to start doing it again so saving this recipe.
Thank you, Sandy! Even though it’s just me much of the time, I do cook most nights or do a salad of some sort. My grandmother who was widowed when she was in her 30s always encouraged me to cook just for me. I know you had a lifetime of cooking with a husband and children, so you deserve a break. But it’s fun to look at cooking as craft. Having pesto of various sorts in the freezer is like money in the bank, lol. Another good quick recipe is parsley and lemon zest with pasta. Take a handful of parsley and the zest of a lemon (I use the vegetable peeler to take off some of the outer skin) and put it in the food processor with some olive oil and then toss with your pasta and a little of the cooking water. I add pecorino to that one. Yummy too!
Thanks Allison for that simple other recipe! Going to try that soon.
You’re welcome, Sandy. I got the parsley-lemon one from Martha Stewart Living. Easier to get the parsley than garlic scapes!
I can almost smell the delicious on your pretty (Fiesta?) dinner plate…. It’s lunchtime and I must be hungry! hahaha!
Thank you, Rach! I wondered if you, as a gardener, would like this recipe! It was good, and a good source of fiber as well. Yes, I have Fiestaware that I bought at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s over the years. I’ve concentrated on blues and greens though I have one purple setting in the mix. My book club used to have 11 members, and when we each take turns hosting, we make a complete dinner for the group so I needed dishes that I could easily add to. That’s how my Fiesta collection started. Hope you’re having a good lunch 🙂
Cottage cheese and an apple. My go-to. 😛
I inherited my grandmother’s Fiesta collection. It’s a lot less “curated” and a lot more “colourful riot” hehe. I love it. When I was little I always wanted to use the adorable coffee/tea cups and she would rarely let me. My favourite is orange.
Another cottage cheese fan, yay! Orange, especially the “old” one, is fabulous. And I like seeing all the colors together! You’re lucky to inherit a collection from your grandmother
*nods* My love of cottage cheese came from her too. And possibly my stubborn streak…. LOL
All the colours make me happy. I mean, really, how could someone frown when looking at a stack of Fiesta?!?
I’m definitely putting your pesto on my list if I happen upon any garlic scapes!
😀
I haven’t heard of Garlic Scape before but I adore pesto in general. Thank you for the recipe, Allison!
I think garlic scape is just getting out there. Before the last few years, most people/gardeners/farmers just threw it away. But it tastes great like a milder garlic
You never said did it give you heartburn/sick? Love love pesto but it just kills me after with major heartburn. But I keep eating it. 🙂
Gloria, I wasn’t sure how explicit to be in the post, lol. When I wrote that garlic makes me “sick”, I meant it gives me diarrhea. Like within a half hour of eating too much garlic. And no, the garlic scape pesto didn’t give me diarrhea, thank goodness. However, it did give me a garlicky taste in my mouth afterwards. I don’t know what to say about heartburn. I’ve been getting low grade heartburn after dinner (I eat late unfortunately) for the last couple of weeks, and last night was no different. I chewed one TUMS and I was fine, but that’s what I’ve been doing every night recently.
I wonder if the Farmer’s Market has garlic scapes. If they do it’s not obvious. I’m much more sensitive to garlic now too. I used to be able to eat more garlicky things than I can now. I like making pesto with pine nuts even though it adds a lot more to the cost.
I would imagine that Michigan farmer’s markets might still have garlic scapes because our climates are rather similar. When I was young, I used to make the French standard bistro recipe, Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. Those days are over for me, sadly. I usually make my regular pesto with pine nuts too, but they have gotten so expensive – $25 for a very small bag – that I’ve been switching over. Walnuts are good, and sunflower seeds are terrific.
Costco has a big bag of pine nuts for a decent price. We freeze them though since they don’t have a long shelf life. I love to put toasted pine nuts in salads and pasta salad. In the old days we would make our own pasta and pesto but we’re too achy for that.
Yes, I used to buy my pine nuts at Costco. But at my store, the bag is well over $30 now. I don’t use them fast enough that they won’t go bad even in the freezer. They’re delicious toasted and eaten plain, but there are more nutritious nuts for snacking. So I’ve downgraded, I’m afraid. I’m hoping some day the prices will decrease at least somewhat coz I love them. I used to love to make Italian cookies with almond paste and pine nuts, but now even the almond paste is too expensive!
Allison, you’re making me hungry! I’m going to pass your recipe along to my niece who loves pesto!
That’s great, Cindy! I hope she likes it
Well that sounds delicious! I didn’t know garlic scapes were a thing!
LOL! I am fairly new to the party myself!
I’ve never heard of garlic scapes before but I’m super curious about them now!
If you’re a garlic lover, these are definitely worth discovering – probably next spring in warm Atlanta!
I’ve never had this before but it sounds so good!
Thank you so much for this recipe, Allison! I will have to try your recipe– it looks positively delicious!
I don’t know if garlic scapes are still at the farmer’s markets or WF in toasty hot LA, but remember the recipe for next year! It’s worth trying 🙂
I love garlic scapes, but I can almost never find them at our local farmers market. I grew up eating them!
It’s only in the past couple of years that I’ve seen garlic scapes at the farmer’s markets and at the local CSA. So I just discovered them recently. That’s so cool that you grew up with them. It makes sense to use all the plant rather than wasting part of it.
I’ve never heard of garlic scape, nor have I seen it in my local stores, but I do love garlic and I love pesto! It’s probably too late to get some near me since it’s been so toasty, but I’ll have to keep an eye out.
If not this year, next year with the new crop of garlic scapes!
I always mean to try garlic scapes. I love making pesto!
Yum, sounds a like a pesto!
Hi Allison – I have been trying to find out for years how to stop my Basil Pesto from turning brown. Someone finally told me to add a ground up Vitamin C tab to the mixture which works somewhat. I will have to try your approach this year. I also grow my own garlic and make Garlic Scape Pesto every year. The recipe I use is somewhat different than yours:
Garlic Scape & Almond Pesto:
10 garlic scapes, chopped
1/3 to 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (to taste & texture)
1/3 cup slivered almonds (can use whole almonds; chop up in the food processor before adding all the other ingredients) – toast the nuts slightly if you like
1/2 cup olive oil
sea salt
Thank you, Liz, for your comment and recipe! I have really good luck with the boil and plunge into ice water method to keep pesto from turning brown, and I don’t have any vitamin C around the house. It does add a little time to the process, but it’s worth it for me. Your garlic scape recipe is quite similar just uses a different nut. I use whatever I have at home. Unfortunately, I discovered that even garlic scape was too garlicky for me. I’m so ticked off at not being able to eat much garlic any more coz I love it! Hope you’re having a good summer!