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Friday, September 30, 2011

Garlic Scape Pesto



This is truly one of the best - and most lingering - parts of summer.  
Garlic Scapes - the very name sounds curly, slightly spicy, fresh, green, delightfully unexpected.

Garlic and its relatives in the allium family, (leeks, chives, onions) grow underground, where the bulb begins its journey.  As the bulb gets harder (and more like the garlic we know), a shoot pokes its way through the ground.  Vibrantly green, the shoot is long, thin and grows in gorgeous curling tendrils, waving like festive banners in the breeze.  It's called the scape.

If left unattended, the scape will harden and transform from green to the familiar opaque white/beige color of garlic peel. Keeping the shoot attached will also curtail further growth of the bulb. So, in order to allow the garlic to keep growing, the farmer is also harvesting this edible delectable that cooks are just beginning to re-discover.


Garlic Scape Pesto

1 C. chopped garlic scapes
1/3 C. walnuts
1/3 C. olive oil
1/2 C. shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in food processor except oil.
Puree, than add oil in a thin stream until well combined.

Savor.


I might have a little too much fun with those quirky, spiraling figures...

Wash.

Chop.

Blend.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Cuisinart.  It's the perfect tool for whipping up something like pesto.  But the engineering is very poor - in my opinion.  It will not run unless the two-pieced lid is screwed on, which seems reasonable - until you take a look at the size of the lid opening.  You would practically need to feed each scape in one at a time lengthwise through that miniscule hole.  So I end up laboriously twisting the lid on-and-off, off-and-on, on-and-off as I add ingredients.  Very tiresome...=)

Sample.

If you're looking for some inspiration for cooking with this fabulous condiment, here are just a handful of dishes we've made with GS Pesto:

*----Simply blend with sour cream for a dipping sensation!
*----Top a homemade pizza crust with pesto, shredded chicken (free-range homegrown!), pineapple, fresh basil, and mozzarella cheese. Then count the seconds before it disappears.  I think it might be safer if you make three.  Or four.
*----Add to just about any pasta dish for a lovely fresh twist
*----Spread on buttered toast for garlic pesto bread
*----And the best part - be sure to put up as much as you can in the freezer for the year until next harvest!  I put up about fifty pints in freezer ziplocs.  We'll see how long it lasts...

12 comments:

  1. Wow. I think my stomach just fainted;) That looks soooo yummy!

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  2. Kellie - you are awesome! Not only do i now have an amazing recipie, I also know why my garlic died! I thought they would die if I cut the scapes off. I guess I was thinking backwards!

    MaKenna DeVore

    ReplyDelete
  3. So glad you found this helpful! Growing garlic is so rewarding - best wishes for your next attempt! =)

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's a good thing to know--I've been thinking of growing my own garlic.

    Girl, you're making me hungry! That pesto looks so yummy--all it needs is a steaming bowl of hot buttered pasta (or the aforementioned pizza)to be perfect!

    God bless,
    ~"Wild Rose"~

    ReplyDelete
  5. This looks lovely! I wish I had some garlic growing so that I could try it. :D Is garlic a fairly hardy plant to grow?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Does it explode? If not, can you use it to patch up mufflers?

    ~Ani~

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  7. My dear sir,
    you do something ever so much more satisfying than either of your suppositions - you eat it.
    =)

    And Chip - yes, it is pretty hardy. We have had pretty good success growing ours, though to be honest, my Sister Ellen is the gardening expert;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. You've got to be kidding me. Does it taste good? Of course, that doesn't matter. Looks too much like guacamole. I thought for sure you would be able to patch a dirt bike muffler with it. It looked like it would, anyway.

    ~Ani~

    ReplyDelete
  9. Which just shows how very far behind the curve you are in the art of culinary science...

    ~Kellie~

    P.S you'e going to give me stomach-ache with your hysterical comments, boy - must stop! =D

    ReplyDelete
  10. Well, if you can't patch a dirt bike muffler with it, could you mix me up one of your other "concoctions" that will? Perhaps some sort of "bread dough" or paste or something.

    ~Ani~

    ReplyDelete
  11. Though I appreciate your confidence in my concocting prowess, I believe I ought to refer you to these three gentlemen, who are doubtless far more accomplished in making the sort of concoction you apparently desire.

    http://daybyday.plexpedia.com/view-4727

    ~Kellie~

    ReplyDelete

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