Garlic Scape Pesto

It was like snakes in the kitchen.  My mother and I had just gone to our CSA (community supported agriculture, not confederate states of america) and brought home the normal late-spring fare.  That is to say, various leafy greens, some herbs, and garlic scapes.  You heard me.  Garlic scapes.  The word scape doesn't even register in word, it's underlined with a red dotted line, which was pretty much how it registered in my mind too.  Scape?  What is this nonsense?  How am I supposed to cook a meal with a scape? It did lead to some amusing puns, but I'll spare your brain cells.

So, what exactly is a scape?  Tis this.  

A long smooth snakelike piece of vegetation that starts with a dense, straight side and ends with a lighter curved side culminating in a small white bulb.  It was actually quite pretty, the first one I pulled out, and if they didn't smell quite so garlicky, I might have used them for decoration.  Alas, one whiff and the vampires wouldn't come over for tea.  Nor would the neighbors.  So I was once again stuck with the task of imagination.  It's really not as easy as Walt Disney makes it look.  

So it was, not without pleasure, that I took to the cookbooks.  And eventually the inter-web.  Sigh.  I don't like being failed by cookbooks, but apparently scapes are foreign to many cooks.  Oh well.  I do like a chase.  

I didn't have to look for long though, there were several delectable recipes for scapes that arose at my googling.  One of these outstripped the rest of its kind by a mile.  Garlic Scape Pesto.  

Look, I can spell! In more ways than one!

I love pesto.  It's been a staple in our house since, well, before I can remember, as my parents did have a life before I was born.  I know, I was shocked to discover that too.  We've always grown basil, enough that when you take a leaf and wrap it in a cherry tomato in the garden, no one cares if it doesn't make it to the table.  

Our basil looks really good this year.  

The stuff from our CSA s delightful as well, but there is something magical about plucking the leaves growing out of one's own backyard for consumption.  We like to grow a lot, and I mean a lot, of basil, then we purchase some more from our CSA or the farmer's market, to make batches of pesto in the summer to freeze for the winter.  Trust me, there is nothing better than the hearty, bitter-sweet flavor of a ripe basil in the winter when everything north of the Mason-Dixon line is covered in snow.  Pesto, fortunately, freezes really well.  Just don't eat it before it makes it to the freezer, and remember to label it!  

Garlic Scape Pesto

adapted from the garlic farm

First, cut off and discard the knobby seed-pod from each scape.

Then cut the scapes into 1/2-inch pieces.

 Rinse the scapes in cold water; drain in a colander.

Place chopped greens and a half-cup of slivered almonds into the bowl of your food processor. 

 Process for 30 seconds or so, or until a fairly smooth texture is achieved.

Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.

With the machine running, slowly add three-quarters cup of extra virgin olive oil. Process for about 15 seconds.

 Then add a quarter- cup grated Parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper, and process for another 5 seconds or so. Taste carefully — you might want to add more salt and/or pepper. And that’s it — you’re done!

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