Garlic Scape & Basil Pesto

Luckily for me, garlic scapes are really hardy - I still had 4 bunches in my refrigerator! These coupled with some good quality olive oil, grated Parmesan Reggiano and fresh basil from the farm, and you have a winning pesto that is fantastic on pasta, chicken, mixed into a salad dressing, on top of naan bread for pizzas, or mixed in to boiled potatoes!!

GARLIC SCAPE & BASIL PESTO

Ingredients

4 bunches of garlic scapes, chopped into 1" pieces

EVOO

2 cups Parmesan Reggiano

2 cups fresh basil leaves

Salt & black pepper, to taste

• Place garlic scapes in a food processor and process until smooth (you will probably need to stop every now and then and scrape the sides of the processor bowl to ensure that all the scapes are minced). Add the basil leaves and process until smooth.
• With the blades running, pour the EVOO in to the processor until the pesto is of a consistency to your liking. Once this is achieved, add the Parmesan Reggiano, salt and pepper and process until fully combined.
• When you put the pesto into jars, be sure to top with some extra olive oil to ensure that no air can reach the pesto and cause the basil to go dark, or for the pesto to spoil.
• Refrigerate jars until ready to use!

Springtime Pasta with Asparagus & Spinach

We received fresh spinach, asparagus, herbs, hot house tomatoes and garlic scapes in our 3rd CSA basket! These ingredients, some chopped onions, a can or romano beans and pasta completed this meal!! The best part is that there was no need for a sauce of any kind as the romano beans are soft and creamy once cooked. When tossed with the pasta, they coated all the ingredients like a sauce!

SPRINGTIME PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS & SPINACH

Ingredients:

1 tbsp EVOO

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic scapes finely chopped

6 spears of asparagus snapped into 1" pieces

3 handfuls of fresh spinach leaves

2 chopped fresh tomatoes

1 can of Romano beans, rinsed and drained

2 tsp of dried oregano

250 g of your favourite pasta (I used rotini so the ingredients would hold on to each piece!)

• In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta according to directions.
• Meanwhile, heat EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic scapes, sauteing until soft. Add asparagus, Romano beans, and tomatoes and cook for approx 5 minutes. Add spinach leaves and saute until wilted.
• Drain pasta and add to the vegetables along with dried oregano. Stir well over medium-high heat to combine all ingredients. Remove from heat and serve with freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste!
  

Untraditional Pesto

I received garlic scapes in my CSA basket from "Cooper's Farm" this week, along with bunches of fresh spinach, and a variety of other springtime veggies. Since scapes have such a short season (much like fiddleheads), I wanted to use them in a manner that we can enjoy them all summer long. So when you're given spinach and scapes, you make pesto (in my books anyway!!) This is lovely on pasta, used in place of hot mustard for sausages, on top of burgers, mixed into sour cream and mayonnaise to make a vegetable or tortilla chip dip, or even with steaks or pork chops...basically anywhere you'd use traditional basil-based pesto!

SPINACH & GARLIC SCAPE PESTO

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach leaves, rinsed and dried

1/2 cup roughly chopped garlic scapes

1/4 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese

1/4 cup EVOO

2 tbsp unsalted butter

salt & pepper

• Place spinach, garlic scapes and cheese in a food processor. Pulse until chunky.


• With machine running, pour in EVOO in a steady stream.


• Process until smooth.


• Add butter and salt and pepper (to taste), and continue processing until really smooth.


• Enjoy on your favourite pasta, pizza, grilled meats, or in dips!!!