By Diane Riehm
Extra Thoughts:
This recipe is versatile and absolutely a game changer on pizza, pasta, potato salad and sandwiches! My favorite way is to spread this pesto on toast and top with a fried or scrambled egg cooked with fresh mushrooms.
Ingredients:
1 bunch garlic scapes, trimmed
1/3 cup pine nuts (or) walnuts
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, diced or shredded
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/8 tsp salt
1/16 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1. Trim the garlic scapes by cutting just below the bulb and also if the end of the stem seems woody, trim that too (like asparagus). Discard the bulb and end of stem.
2. In a food processor, add the curly part of the scapes, twirling them around the center so that they all fit. Add the nuts, cheese, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Process by pulsing until the mixture begins to break down. Scrape the bowl down.
3. With the processor running, slowly add all the olive oil. Continue to process until all the ingredients are incorporated and broken down, about one minute.
** Store in a covered container in the fridge and enjoy within a week. Also, you can freeze the pesto in a jar or in an ice-cube tray. Once frozen, in the ice-cube tray, remove and place in a zip top bag in the freezer.