Garlic Scape Pesto

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed Boo and I joined a CSA this year. CSAs (community supported agriculture) are also called a "crop share" -- and we joined through a local farmer's market. It's delivered once a week for 22 weeks. We love it! 

We've been spoiled with amazing produce so far this summer. And because the farm chooses what we get each week, we've been trying lots of different foods. Our favorites have been: rainbow chard, parsley, mint, lettuces, blueberries, beets and now...garlic scapes!  I had never bought them before -- only sampled them in restaurants. They are, not surprisingly, very garlicky -- tasting like a cross between a spring onion and a garlic clove. And oh so good. But I'm a garlic lover and will find next to any excuse to eat very garlicky treats. Garlic scape pesto included. Sorry, Boo!

What you'll need:

1C garlic scapes, washed and roughly diced

1/2C parsley, washed and torn 

1/4C Parmesan cheese 

1/4C good olive oil*

2tbsp whole almonds, toasted

Salt and pepper 

*I prefer thicker pestos, but adding more olive oil will give you a thinner result

Directions:

1. Chop garlic scapes and place in food processor

2. Toast whole almonds in a dry, cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat until you can just start to smell them (watch closely - they can burn easily)

3. Tear parsley and add to food processor

4. Add almonds, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to food processor as well

5. Turn on the processor and begin to blend the ingredients 

6. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil using the open attachment on the top of the machine, stopping the processor once or twice to scrape down the sides to ensure the ingredients are evenly incorporated 

8. Add more olive oil if you prefer a thinner pesto 

I served my pesto on whole grain pasta with peas and tomatoes (also fresh from our CSA bounty). And more Parmesan cheese, because really -- is there ever too much cheese? I also shamelessly ate it straight from the ramekin it was stored in - with blue corn tortilla chips. This was excellent, too. 

If you are not a big fan of garlic, you may wish to blanch the scapes before you make the pesto. This will probably help cut some of the spicy flavor.  I also found that the pesto was most potent the first night I made it. The next day, it was much more mild.

Toasting the almonds:

CSA parsley:

Garlic scapes (they are actually the shoots that come up from the ground while the white bulbs grow beneath the soil -- who knew?):

Into the food processor:

Begin blending:

Blend a bit more:

Finished product:

I served ours with Dreamfield's pasta, peas and CSA tomatoes and parmesan cheese:

Have you ever tried garlic scapes? What's your favorite seasonal produce? 

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf