For the pesto
- 10 large garlic scapes
- 1/3 cup unsalted nuts (I like it with pine nuts or almonds)
- 1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
It’s a pretty simple recipe. Start by washing, drying and roughly chopping the garlic scapes into 1-2 inch long pieces. This will make the pieces more manageable.
Puree the garlic scapes, nuts, Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a food processor until very finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly pour the oil through the opening. Season the pesto with salt and pepper to taste.
As with many recipes- there’s a lot of customization you can do. If you’re planning to use this with pasta, you may want it more of a puree with additional oil to give it a looser texture. If you’re going to use it as a spread or dip, you will want to leave it a little coarser texture (don’t puree it as long), and only as much oil as you want. I don’t have a powerful blender, so mine always turn out coarser. Which happens to suit me just fine- my favorite use for garlic scape pesto is as a dip for chips or carrots!
*The base of this recipe comes from Epicurious (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pasta-with-garlic-scape-pesto-395769) I customize it with different nuts and texture.