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

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.