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When you see garlic scapes for the first time, you’ll probably think that it is some kind of alien vegetable. I mean, they do look funky, but I promise they are really easy to use in meals. This garlic scape pesto is the perfect sauce for pasta, vegetables, fish, steak, or anything else that you think pairs with garlic. The garlic scape flavor is unmistakably garlicky, but it is not overwhelmingly so, and as a result, it works in both raw and cooked applications.
The first time I saw garlic scapes was in 2015, when I was volunteering at my CSA in central Massachusetts. We had to volunteer at least 8 hours a season, as a part of the CSA agreement (really, this was no big deal), and one of my volunteer days happened to be during the garlic scape harvest. I hadn’t seen them before, but I love garlic, so I was excited to use them.
I have never seen garlic scapes at a grocery store, and yet they appear every year at the farmers market and in CSA baskets. I still get giddy when I see them at the markets, usually starting in late May, and sometimes continuing through to early August.
What are Garlic Scapes?
Garlic scapes are the green stems of the hard-necked garlic variety. Farmers cut off these stems in order to focus the plant’s energy into growing the garlic bulb. These stems (the scapes) have a milder garlic flavor than the cloves and a similar texture to a green bean. The unopened flower at the end of the scape is edible, too!
Garlic scapes can be used anywhere you would use garlic, shallots, or chives. They can also be sautéed as their own side dish.
Why you should make Garlic Scape Pesto
Pesto means “pounded” in Italian. Most of the time we think of basil pesto when we hear pesto, but that’s not necessarily the case. Pesto can be made with almost anything!
If you love garlic, you’ll love this pesto. The garlic scapes taste like a cross between garlic and chives. I do include basil in my recipe, as I think the basil and garlic combination is classic and versatile.
Garlic Scape Pesto Ingredients and Substitutions
Garlic Scapes
If you don’t have garlic scapes, I would suggest chives as the next best substitute, with maybe a few garlic cloves thrown in. Green garlic or ramps would also make a fine substitution.
I would not directly replace all the garlic scapes with garlic cloves, as the raw garlic flavor will become overpowering, even if you love garlic.
Basil
There are a ton of different basil varieties. The one we are most familiar with is Sweet Italian Basil, but there are many others, including Genovese Basil, Purple Basil, Lemon Basil, and Thai Basil. Most of these varieties will work with garlic scape pesto. However, I would recommend avoiding Thai Basil for this application, as it tends to have more of an anise flavor that I find competes too much with the herby/garlicky flavor of the scapes.
Pine Nuts
Toasted pine nuts are the key to good texture in pesto. I always toast my pine nuts before using them, as this brings out more flavor.
In general, I would recommend toasting nuts before using them, no matter the variety.
Parmesan
The parmesan adds a salty and sharp flavor to the pesto. I used Parmigiano Reggiano, but you could easily substitute another salty, hard cheese, like Pecorino Romano, if that’s what you have on hand.
If you’re doing Whole30, omit the cheese and you’re all set. I promise it will still be delicious!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
This is the time to bring out the good olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil does best in low-heat applications, when you really get to taste the oil.
If you ever get the opportunity, I highly recommend olive oil tastings. Different olive varietals result in vastly different oil flavors, from buttery to grassy. My favorite extra virgin olive oil is from Arbequina olives, which are on the grassier and spicier side.
Serving Suggestions
This pesto freezes really well. I’ll freeze pestos in an ice cube tray, and then use the cubes as single serving portions later.
Of course, garlic scape pesto is a great sauce for pasta (save the pasta water to thin out the pesto for the perfect sauce consistency), but it is also an excellent sauce for salmon and roasted vegetables.
Garlic Scape Pesto
This garlic scape pesto is the perfect sauce for pasta, vegetables, fish, steak, or anything else that you think pairs with garlic.
Ingredients
- ½ cup Pine Nuts
- 1 small bunch Garlic Scapes, approximately ¾ cup roughly chopped
- ¼ cup Basil Leaves
- ¼ cup Parmesan
- ½ Lemon
- ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus more for storing
Instructions
- Toast pine nuts until golden, approximately 5 minutes in a dry pan on medium-low heat. Alternatively, nuts can be toasted in a toaster oven.
- Add pine nuts, garlic scapes, basil, parmesan, and the juice of half a lemon to a food processor. Pulse until combined.
- Drizzle olive oil into mixture while food processor is running.
- To store pesto, add to a jar and top with olive oil if not using immediately. This will prevent the pesto from oxidizing and browning.
Notes
Garlic Scape Pesto will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
