It's garlic scape season, which means it's time to start thinking about all the wonderful ways you can prepare them. If you haven't made garlic scape pesto yet, it's a must! You can toss it with pasta or use it as a base for this smoked pizza or any pizza, for that matter!
I planted stiff-necked garlic (elephant garlic) for the first time last year and used the garlic scapes to make pickled garlic scapes. They were a big hit, but this year, I decided to try something different: garlic scape pesto.
I considered looking at my spruce tip pesto recipe for inspiration, but then I decided to just play it by ear and use what I had on hand. I added the ingredients into my food processor, one by one, and tasted it along the way, until I was delighted with the flavor.
I've never been a huge pesto lover, so I definitely prefer pesto made with garlic scapes to ordinary pesto. It's milder in taste and not as overpowering and pungent as regular pesto can be, especially if you use young, tender scapes.
So if you've recently harvested garlic scapes and are exploring various ways to use them, try making pesto with them. You won't be disappointed!
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🌱 What Are Garlic Scapes?
Garlic scapes are the curly, green flower stalks that grow from the bulbs on hardneck garlic (or elephant garlic). They're harvested in late spring or early summer before the flowers bloom to encourage the plant to focus its energy on growing a larger bulb underground.
😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This garlic scape pesto recipe is unique and will impress your family or guests.
- It freezes well, so you can portion it out in freezer bags and defrost one serving at a time, or freeze it in smaller portions in an ice cube tray and use them as flavor bombs in soups, stews, and sauces.
- This recipe is forgiving and offers many possible substitution options.
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Garlic Scapes: Young and tender garlic scapes, equalling ½ lb once the blossom and tough section have been removed.
- Cheese: I used Asiago cheese, but you can substitute Parmesan cheese or Pecorino Romano cheese. If using a saltier cheese, the salt amount might need to be reduced.
- Nuts: I added pistachios because I always have those on hand, but pine nuts are traditionally used. Walnuts are another option.
- Spices: Salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Crushed red pepper would also be excellent!
- Citrus: The juice and zest of one small lemon or two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice.
- Oil: Good quality extra virgin olive oil or use avocado oil for a milder flavor.
- Optional: A few tablespoons of fresh basil leaves.
🧄 How to Make Garlic Scape Pesto
Step 1: Trim bulb end and opposite tough end from garlic scapes, then slice into 2" to 3" sections. Weigh out ½ lb, then add to the bowl of a food processor or a blender.
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Step 2: Add shelled pistachios, cubed cheese, lemon zest and juice, basil leaves, salt, and cracked black pepper. Process ingredients until combined, then drizzle olive oil in a steady stream from the top shoot. Scrape the sides, as needed.
Step 3: Taste the pesto and see if the seasonings need to be adjusted. Once satisfied with the flavor, store in mason jars and refrigerate or freeze for later use.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Garlic scape pesto can be tossed over gnocchi (potato pasta) or this quick homemade pasta. It can be used as a spread in wraps or sandwiches (like this chicken croissant sandwich). It can also be stirred into mashed potatoes, stir-fries, rotisserie chicken salad, scrambled eggs, or used as a marinade for grilled meat, chicken, or shrimp.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Garlic scapes should be removed in late spring/early summer while they are still fresh, tender, and curled.
Before using garlic scapes in your favorite recipe, remove the flower end as well as the tough section on the other end. Only use the tender part in the center.
Bitter pesto can be fixed by adding more of the other ingredients, for example, cheese, lemon juice, nuts, and even a pinch of sugar.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Harvest garlic scapes when they're young and tender. Older, more fibrous garlic scapes can affect the texture and flavor of the pesto.
- Toast the nuts before adding them to add depth of flavor.
- To make this garlic scape pesto recipe vegan, substitute nutritional yeast for the cheese.
- Use an ice cube tray to freeze pesto in small portions. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag for easy access all year!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- Top with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent browning or oxidation.
🧆 Related Recipes
If you enjoy this garlic scape pesto recipe, be sure to try these other great recipes!
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📖 Recipe
Garlic Scape Pesto
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Trim bulb end and opposite tough end from garlic scapes, then slice into 2" to 3" sections. Weigh out ½ lb, then add to the bowl of a food processor or a blender.
- Add shelled pistachios, cubed cheese, lemon zest and juice, basil leaves, salt, and cracked black pepper. Process ingredients until combined, then drizzle olive oil in a steady stream from the top shoot. Scrape the sides, as needed.
- Taste the pesto and see if the seasonings need to be adjusted. Once satisfied with the flavor, store in mason jars and refrigerate or freeze for later use.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- Harvest garlic scapes when they're young and tender. Older, more fibrous garlic scapes can affect the texture and flavor of the pesto.
- Toast the nuts before adding them to add depth of flavor.
- To make this garlic scape pesto recipe vegan, substitute nutritional yeast for the cheese.
- Use an ice cube tray to freeze pesto in small portions. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag for easy access all year!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- Top with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent browning or oxidation.
Hilda Sterner says
We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!