Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe

I never learned about harvesting garlic scapes until I found a video on a variation of this recipe!
It was fantastic

https://vanillaandbean.com/garlic-scape-pesto/
Ingredients

▢10 (154g) Garlic Scapes size of scapes vary, use weight for accurate measurement
▢1/3 C (44g) Pine Nuts *see notes for substitute!I used walnuts with great success and they're much cheaper!
▢1/3 C (38g) Parmesan Asiago or Parmesan dice or shredded **see note
▢1/2 Lemon juiced
▢1/8 tsp Fine Sea Salt
▢A few grinds of Pepper
▢1/3 C (70g) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
Trim the garlic scapes by cutting just below the bulb and also if the end of the stem seems woody, trim that too (like asparagus). Discard the bulb and end of stem, then set the remaining scape aside (the curly part).
In a food processor, add the scapes, twirling them around the center so that they all fit. Add the pine nuts, cheese, juice of the lemon and salt and pepper. Process by pulsing until the mixture begins to break down. Scrape the bowl down.
With the processor running, slowly add all the olive oil. Continue to process until all the ingredients are incorporated and broken down, about one minute.
Store in a covered container or lidded jar in the fridge and enjoy within a week. Also, you can freeze the pesto in a jar or in an ice-cube tray. Once frozen, in the ice-cube tray, remove and place in a zip top bag in the freezer.

I was just thinking about making pesto with my garlic scapes! What a timely post.

What do you intend on using yours with? I'm thinking of making a garlic scape pesto pasta in the very near future.

I had it with some bow-tie pasta last night, it's also very good on flatbread with fresh sliced beefsteak tomatoes and of course any bread or crackers.

My recipe uses Smoked Paprika and Turmeric as the spices. I freeze it in small quantities. It's great mixed into tomato paste to make a quick pizza sauce, but I'll toss a bit into any "soup" I'm putting together out of leftovers.

My friend doesn't use "Pesto" because she's avoiding pasta - I suggested she expand her horizons to the other wonderful places that Garlic Scape Pesto can add a taste of garlic without overdoing it, or overwhelming the other flavors in the dish.

I would love a pine-nut tree, but they take decades to get old enough to produce and I suspect the squirrels would figure out how yummy they are also. Lately I'm using sunflower seeds in mine, and that works fine. Bonus is a friend who often suggests she come for quick pizza lunch has a nut allergy.

Delicious!

Plop some into a pot of cooking beans to add to the broth. Can't go wrong.

Thanks for the recipes. Always nice to try something slightly different with each batch.