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–+ servings

Garlic Scape Pesto

When garlic scapes pop into season in the early summer, I immediately grab a small handful to make pesto. You only need 100 grams of garlic scapes to make such a big, garlicky difference in your pesto, and the bright green color will keep for weeks. Use it for pastas, sandwiches, grain bowls or salads - this makes just over 3 cups, so you will have plenty of opportunities to use it!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings: 3 cups of pesto

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 100 grams garlic scapes, See Note
  • 50 grams freshly grated parmesan
  • 50 grams pine nuts
  • Diamond Crystal kosher salt
  • 300 grams fresh basil
  • 240 grams extra-virgin olive oil, 1 cup
  • Lemon juice , optional

Instructions 

  1. Roughly chop your garlic scapes, removing any tough ends. Add these to a food processor. Grate in the parmesan, add the pine nuts and season with 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
  2. Pulse this in the food processor until you have a paste. Then, add the basil in four batches, drizzling in olive oil to help the food processor mix this into a pesto-like paste.
  3. When all the basil is combined (it will be a lot), taste and season with more salt as preferred. If you like acid, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (I find any more overpowers the parmesan's natural acidity).
  4. Store and serve as you'd like! This will keep in the fridge for up to a week, and it also freezes well for up to six months.

Notes

Note: This recipe is in grams because all of these ingredients vary widely when measured by volume. I've found the only way to ensure a perfect pesto ratio is to measure by weight.