Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Serves: 6-8
Garlic scapes are in season now. Garlic scapes are the stalks of the garlic plant that shoot up and swirl around at the top into pretty curlicues. Farmers cut off the tops or scapes to divert the energy down to the growing garlic bulb. When scapes are young they are tender and milder, perfect for pesto and oh so delicious. When scapes get larger they become fibrous
and spicy and are better for cooking. The first time I tasted garlic scapes was at a local restaurant where they were dipped into a beer batter and deep fried. The crunchy, curly scapes were piled onto a plate all in a tangle- wow were they good! If you see them at the market grab a bunch or two as the season is short and if you hesitate you’ll have to wait until next year.
Ingredients
- 8-10 Garlic Scapes
- 1 cup Parsley or Basil leaves, fresh
- 1/3 cup Toasted sunflower seeds or hemp seeds
- Pinch Salt
- 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast or Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2-3/4 cup Extra virgin Olive oil
- Squeeze or two of fresh lemon juice.
Method
- Wash garlic scapes and trim off fibrous bottoms and top tips. Cut scapes into 2-3″ pieces.
- Places scapes, parsley and sunflower seeds in the bowl of a food processor fitted with metal S blade.
- Pulse several times until chopped finely.
- Add pinch of salt, nutritional yeast, olive oil to bowl and process until smooth.
- Taste pesto and add squeeze of lemon juice, puree.
- Add any additional seasonings as needed.
Chefs notes:
What to do with Garlic Scape Pesto?
- Toss with zucchini noodles and top with chopped tomato
- Mix a small amount with cashew cream for a topping for baked potato or sweet potato fries.
- Use on top of pizza crust or tortilla crust to make a quick pizza
- Toss with steamed vegetables.
- Serve on top of grilled marinated tempeh or grilled fish
- Mix with avocado mayonaise for a yummy dip or sandwich spread.