I avoid shoes whenever possible in the summertime.
In fact, if I do find myself in a position where I have to wear shoes and socks for a long while on a stifling summer day, I get pretty grouchy, pretty quickly.
Therefore, my favorite summer meals are the ones where I can run outside barefoot and harvest the bulk of the ingredients a few steps from my front door, which is exactly the case for this garlic scape pesto recipe.
Barefoot farming is where its at, y’all. Hmmm… that’d be a good book title, “Barefoot Farming“…
Scapes are one of the beautiful bonuses of growing your own garlic. (Because you ARE growing your own garlic this year, right?)
Before the bulbs themselves are ready to pluck from the ground, you’ll find the delightfully elegant scapes growing in curves and swirlshigh above the leaves of your hardneck garlic plants.
It’s wise to clip them to help the plant put its full resources into the final maturation of the bulb under the ground, but that sure as heck doesn’t mean you have to discard the scapes.
If you’re a garlic fanatic (like me), you’ll be ecstatic to know the scapes carry the same pungent garlic flavor as the bulbs.
It’s like the best two-for-one deal EVAH.
What to Do with Garlic Scapes?
Oh so many options, my friends. SO many options:
Grill them
Saute them in butter (either alone or with other veggies)
Add them to stir-fry for a pop of garlic flavor
Mince them up and make compound butter
Chop them fine and add to any salad, pasta, casserole, or other recipe that benefits from a fresh garlic flavor
Make garlic scape pesto (which we’ll do below…)
How to Harvest Garlic Scapes
You’ll see the scape stalk growing up from the leaves of the garlic plant. Clip it with scissors, or snap it with your fingers down low at the base. Younger scapes are more desirable as they tend to be more tender and mild. However, I used mature scapes in my latest batch of pesto, and simply discarded the tougher, woodier base-portion when I was chopping them. (It reminded me of the woody stalk of an overly-mature asparagus). I also cut off the flower/bulb at the top and gave it to my pigs. Although I know some folks eat that part too.
In a food processor, process the garlic scapes and basil for 30 seconds.
Add the nuts and process for another 30 seconds.
Slowly drizzle in the olive oil as you continue to run the food processor.
Add in the parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Mix and taste, adjusting the salt/pepper as desired.
Use the pesto over fresh homemade pasta (my favorite), use it as a sauce for homemade pizza, or smear it on a bit of crusty bread.
Garlic Scape Pesto Notes:
More mature scapes will be spicer, so give them a taste before you make the pesto so you know what you’re working with. Mine were pretty intense, so I added the basil to help mellow things out. However, if you want to omit the basil, you can.
You can use pretty much ANY nut in this recipe– walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, you name it!
Definitely use REAL parmesan cheese here– no weird powdery stuff in the green can, please.
Pesto freezes extremely well, and often mellows out a bit in the freezer.
If you’re not growing garlic this year, check your farmer’s market for scapes. They are becoming more popular, and it’s likely you can find them there.
Adding a small amount of acidity (lemon juice or vinegar) and balancing that with a little sweetness (sugar or honey) is the best way to take the edge off a pesto that tastes overwhelmingly of garlic. Almost every cuisine on earth makes use of garlic, and it's a vital component in pesto.
Cut garlic scapes into coins and add them to a hot pan to make all sorts of stir-fries. Mix finely diced garlic scapes into a vinaigrette or green goddess dressing to instantly upgrade your next salad. Blister whole garlic scapes on the grill for a lightly charred snack or side dish to serve at your next barbecue.
Why is my garlic scape pesto bitter? You may have gotten a bad one or used too much! To salvage your bitter pesto, you can try to balance the flavors by adding more of the other ingredients, such as more olive oil, nuts, herbs, or even a bit of sweetness (like maple syrup) to counteract the bitterness.
The most common reason for pesto tasting bitter is that the olive oil is past its best and has started to turn rancid. If the pesto has been made in a food processor or blender, there's also the possibility that it has turned bitter from the crude, sheering action of the blades.
The scape, if left on the plant, will form a flower and then seed (you can eat those tiny seeds! using a garlic press is the best way to do that!). By cutting off the scape you are asking the plant to send all of it's energy in to increasing the bulb size, rather than in putting energy toward flowers and seed.
Though they're often discarded when the garlic is harvested, scapes are actually edible, and can be used similarly to scallions or chives. If you grow your own garlic, snip the stalks as close to the base of the plant as you can, being careful not to damage the clove in the process.
Grill scapes turning occasionally until they wilt and char slightly. Carefully remove cooked scapes from barbecue transferring to a bowl. Squeeze on lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Toss and then serve immediately.
Garlic scapes keep well in a plastic bag in the fridge for two to three weeks. They will keep for a few days (and will look beautiful) in a glass with a little cool water in it, on the counter in a cool room. Change water daily.
The whole garlic scape is edible, including the flower bulb at the end. Some people remove the bulb because it has a thinner texture than the rest of the stalk. It can taste fibrous when consumed raw and will cook at a different rate when sauteing or roasting scapes.
To freeze, you can blanch the scapes for about 2 minutes before packing them away in freezer bags. OR simply chop and freeze in bags without blanching.
Garlic scapes can be eaten raw or cooked up and added to a variety of dishes. Wash the garlic scapes, and trim the end and the bud. Many people discard the bud because it can be quite fibrous, particularly in raw preparations.
Certain ingredients can help to balance or neutralize the garlic taste. Acidic ingredients like lemon juice or vinegar can help to cut through the strong flavors of garlic. Adding dairy products like milk, cream, or yogurt can also help to mellow the taste and create a more balanced dish.
What should you do if you add too much garlic to a recipe? Add some lemon juice if the recipe allows. Add some cane sugar, maple syrup or honey to the lemon juice if necessary to reduce the acidity. Lemon juice not only reduces the 'heat', or 'bite' and breath-smell of garlic but also softens the taste.
Anything sugary will work: granulated white sugar, honey, fruit juices, even sweet dessert wines. Acid in the form of vinegar or citrus juices can make a pesto taste less bitter and could even enhance the flavour of the sauce at the same time.
If you're having a particularly garlic-heavy meal, eat apples for dessert or chew on fresh mint leaves. One study indicated that the chemical makeup of raw or heated apples, lettuce, and mint helped deodorize garlic breath. Hot green tea and lemon juice may also help.
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I avoid shoes whenever possible in the summertime.
I avoid shoes whenever possible in the summertime.
What to Do with Garlic Scapes?
Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe
