Farm Direct Coop Recipesor. . . what you can do with your share!

Raw Scape Recipe

Garlic scapes make a pesto that is a pretty green color and a knock-your-socks-off rich garlic flavor.  If this pesto is too strong for your taste, add mayonnaise or sour cream to dilute 1/1 or even 2/1.

• 1/2 lb scapes, chopped into 1 inch sections
• 1 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 c. grated parmesan cheese

1. In a blender combine the scapes and olive oil.  Pour the mixture into a bowl and blend the cheese in by hand.

Can be used as a cracker or pizza spread.  Can be frozen in plastic ice cube trays and used later- this applies to other pestos, dips, and dressings as well.  Once frozen, wrap cubes individually in plastic wrap, place in freezer bag and return to freezer.  Use all year round for making bruschetta, with pasta, or pizza.  Also, in garlic bread, 2 or 3 thawed pesto cubes work great as a substitute for the oil in baked bread.

Garlic scapes are shoots that spring from the top of the garlic plant. Cutting them strengthens the bulb – and gives us a taste of early season garlic. While you can treat scapes as you would garlic, it’s delicious in this early summer pesto, courtesy of the blog of food writer Dorie Greenspan, whose work often appears in Parade and Bon Apetit.

Makes about 1 cup

• 10 garlic scapes, finely chopped
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (to taste and texture)
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds (you could toast them lightly, if you’d like)
• About 1/2 cup olive oil
• Sea salt

1. Put the scapes, 1/3 cup of the cheese, almonds and half the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor (or use a blender or a mortar and pestle).
2. Whir to chop and blend all the ingredients and then add the remainder of the oil and, if you want, more cheese. If you like the texture, stop; if you’d like it a little thinner, add some more oil. Season with salt. Serve over pasta, fish, chicken or just spread on bread.
3. If you’re not going to use the pesto immediately, press a piece of plastic against the surface to keep it from turning brown. The pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days or packed into airtight containers or covered ice cube trays and frozen for a couple of months, by which time you can use it over tomatoes.