Garlic…what?! Garlic scapes. Great if you want to keep vampires (or your boyfriend) away. Don’t worry, if I wasn’t my mother’s daughter I wouldn’t know what they were either. If you don’t have parents who grow copious amounts of garlic in your backyard, you may be able to find these at your local farmer’s market. If and when you find them, get as many as you can, make this pesto, and freeze the leftovers for garlicky joy all year round. You can also find this recipe in my cousin’s cookbook, The Farm by Ian Knauer.
The original intention was to make macaroni and cheese and put a few tablespoons of this pesto in it. My mom has been making it for years and calls it “Garlic Scape Pesto Macaroni and Cheese.” I call it crack.
However, while I was making this pesto, my housemate (yeah Lizzie!) was making pasta salad and asked if she could use a little bit of the pesto in it. She squeezed some lemon juice over it and whipped in some olive oil, and just like that, Garlic Scape Dressing was born. It was so good it didn’t even make it to the plate; we just stood there eating it out of the bowl.
Garlic Scape Pesto
Ingredients
-10 large garlic scapes (in this picture I had 40 so I made 4 times the recipe)
-1/3 cup toasted walnuts
-1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
-Salt and pepper
-1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
What to do
Garlic scapes are TOUGH so I figured I would help my blender out by roughly chopping them first.
Puree the garlic scapes, walnuts, parmesan, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a food processer until very finely chopped. While the motor is running, slowly pour the oil through the opening. Season the pesto with salt and pepper to taste. It keeps in the fridge covered for 1 week or frozen for a few months.
Garlic Scape Pasta Salad
Ingredients
-1 pound any pasta salad-esque pasta
-½ – 1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half
-1 bunch asparagus
-25-30 frozen uncooked shrimp (defrosted)
-1 Tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
-¼ – ½ cup feta cheese
For the dressing
-3 Tablespoons garlic scape pesto
-2 Tablespoon lemon juice
-3-4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Whisk pesto and lemon juice then slowly pour in olive oil while continuing to whisk. Set aside.
What to do
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until it is al dente. Drain the pasta, run under cool water, and reserve.
While pasta is cooking, heat the ghee in a pan over medium heat and cook the shrimp for 5-7 minutes until both sides are pink. Set aside.
Put more water on to boil for the asparagus. Cut the tough ends off of the asparagus (about ½ - 1 inch). Boil for 1-3 minutes depending on size. Drain and run under cool water to prevent them from overcooking. When cool, cut up into bite sized pieces.
Combine pasta, shrimp, asparagus, tomatoes, feta and pour dressing on top. Add salt and pepper to taste and Voila! You’re the biggest hit at the picnic.
Garlic Scape Pesto Macaroni and Cheese (adapted from Big Phil’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese in The Farm cookbook aka the best Mac ‘n’ Cheese I’ve ever had besides my Mom’s)
Ingredients
-1 pound of your favorite pasta (mine is Cellentani)
-3 large shallots, finely chopped
-2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
-4 cups whole milk
-2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
-3 cups grated smoked cheddar cheese
-4 Tablespoons garlic scape pesto
-black pepper
What to do
Preheat the oven to 350*. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish.
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until it is al dente. Drain the pasta and reserve.
Add the shallots to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are browned, 6-8 minutes. Add in the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and bring to a boil. Cook the sauce, whisking occasionally, until it is thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the thyme, cheese, and garlic scape pesto. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
Toss the pasta with the cheese sauce and transfer to the baking dish. Bake the mac n cheese until the top is golden and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. You can thank me later.
