Garlic Scape Pesto is a must-have pesto that keeps excellently in your freezer and can be taken out throughout the year for so many different dishes. It is only available in June, so if you don’t grow your own you can purchase garlic scape from our farm at Autumn Harvest Orchard.
Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe
- 1/2 cup garlic scapes, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 cups grated Parmesan cheese (use real cheese – not Kraft in a can)
- Salt to taste (optional)
- Fresh cracked pepper
Put garlic scapes and lemon juice in a food processor with the steel blade, and pulse until scapes are roughly chopped. With the food processor running or pulsing, add oil through the feed tube and pulse until oil is mixed.
Remove lid, add half of Parmesan cheese, and pulse until mixed, then pulse in the rest of cheese and cracked pepper. You may need to add a little more olive oil to get the consistency you want. We will put garlic scape pesto in mason jars and freeze.
Then throughout the year, use it on everything for seasoning from mixing in pasta salad, pesto pasta, garlic bread, over grilled chicken, or over sautéed green beans.
We don’t add nuts to this pesto, because we like to freeze it and since we add it to so many things nuts may not always go into that dish (like garlic bread), so if we want nuts in the pesto we will add them while making that dish.
Garlic Scape Dip Recipes
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4-5 garlic scapes finely chopped
- 1½ Tbs. dried dill
- 2 Tbs. cider or red wine vinegar
- Milk to thin
Mix all ingredients, thin to desired consistency. Use on salad or as vegetable dip.
Pesto Cream Cheese
After making pesto, leave about a ½ cup in the food processor and add 1 package of softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Mix and serve with crackers or a baguette.
Brother Ray’s favorite!
Different Ways To Use The Pesto
- Toss with pasta
- Mix 2T-4T with cream cheese for a cracker spread.
- Mix 3T with cream cheese and mix with pasta for an Alfredo sauce.
- Whisk in olive oil with 1t of mustard for a vinaigrette.
- Mix 1t in olive oil and dip fresh bread into it.
- Mix 1t in olive oil and spread on French bread to make garlic bread.
- Mix 1T into spaghetti sauce for more flavoring.
- Put pesto into large cooked pasta shells, pour spaghetti sauce over shells, add mozzarella cheese, and bake.
- Spread on pizza crust and add cheese
- Use as a sandwich spread on chicken and grill or bake.
- Use as a layer in lasagna
- Whisk into eggs for quiche.
Garlic Scape Uses
- Cut into 2-inch lengths and sauté in olive oil or butter over medium heat, adding salt and pepper to taste.
- Add scapes to your favorite stir-fry dishes.
- Chop and add to raw salads.
- Preserve them by using the Dilly Bean canning recipe found in many canning cookbooks.
- Chop in a food processor into small bits and put in ice cube trays to use as a seasoning.
- Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper and put on the grill.
- Add to pickled beets or cucumbers.
- Steam and dress with a bit of lemon juice.
- Make garlic scape pesto (see recipe).
- Slice and sprinkle over any pasta.
- Slice and add to any sauce.
- Chop and add to guacamole or fresh salsa.
- Chop and mix with softened cream cheese or butter for a unique spread for sandwiches or bagels.
- Use chopped fresh scapes as a garnish for tomato or potato soup.
- Add chopped scapes to vegetable soups and stews toward the end of cooking time.
- Use in recipes as a substitute for green onions.
- Add to toppings for bruschetta or pizza.
- Place in lightly oiled pan and add salt to taste. Cover and roast for 30 to 45 minutes until it begins to turn brown. Serve as a side dish.
- Add to egg dishes or mashed potatoes.
Download the recipe, in pdf format, here!
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