It’s that time of year again – delicious garlic scape harvesting time!

Garlic scapes are the smooth stalks that grow up out of the middle of garlic plants, curling upon themselves before straightening up and flowering. If you cut them from the plant before they flower, they pack a scrumptious culinary punch of garlic-ky flavour that is perfect for pestos. 

This weekend, Chris and I took our cue from the plants and cut a handful of scapes from our garlic patch to make a pesto to bring to my parent’s place for my mom’s birthday. It turned out great, although VERY garlic-ky. That strong flavour didn’t deter us, but if you’re new to strong pesto, I’d recommend cutting down on the scape quanity in the recipe your first time around. 

If you’re looking for scapes, I suggest visiting your local farmer’s market to pick some up. They’re only available once a year (or twice if you live in a place where garlic can have two growing seasons a year), so you should snap them up when you see them. They won’t be around for long.

Garlic Scape Pesto (from Chris’ back pocket arsenal of tried-and-true recipes)

2 C garlic scapes
1 C nuts (pine nuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc) We used walnuts.
3/4 C olive oil 
1/2 C lemon juice (1 lg lemon squeezed)
1/2 tsp salt

Chop up scapes, put everything in a food processor and blend. 

If you try it out, let us know what you think!