Saturday, June 9, 2012

Garlic Scape Herb Pesto, Paleo friendly


It's garlic scape season! Garlic scapes are the flower stem of the garlic plant. They form on the plant after the leaves form and get cut off so that the garlic bulb will start to form.
They have a mild garlic/onion flavor and can be used in a variety of ways from taking the place of garlic in sautes, soups or stews etc, or even used raw, as in pesto. Use the entire stalk, after washing, of course.

I used the garlic scapes to make a paleo friendly herb pesto. I took 4 scapes, and gave them a rough chop.
I processed the scapes in a food processor with a handful of dill, handful of cilantro, handful of spinach and a handful of basil, along with 1/4 - 1/2 cup macadamia nuts and some sea salt. The macadamia nuts give the pesto it's creamy consistency, basically taking the place of cheese.
After a rough process to the herbs, spinach, scapes and nuts, I drizzled in extra virgin olive oil to form the pesto. Check out the beautiful, creamy green color:
Play around with the pesto by changing up the herbs you use. The scapes are mild, so a batch of pesto can really take 4-6 scapes without overpowering the flavor.
If you would like to add in a cheese, add just 1/4 cup nuts, such as pine nuts or macadamia nuts. Then after drizzling in the oil, stir in your cheese of choice, i.e., Parmigiano Reggiano, Romano etc
Enjoy!

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