2 garlic scape recipes /pesto and potato salad

a basket of garlic scapes from the neighbor's garden

i hope that you still have some garlic scapes hanging around in the fridge or freezer. they still had them at the farmers market last week. meant to post this a week ago but we had a week-long celebration for my mother's 92nd birthday. her birthday is the 4th of july so i decided to create a red, white and blue potato salad

red, white and blue potato salad

before we get started on the recipes, let's get started by placing the scapes into a food processor and grind them till they are fine.

now we are ready to rock and roll/ fresh from the food processor

garlic scape pesto

ingredients
1 cup ground scapes
8 basil leaves
1/3 cup pine nuts
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese
salt or not...i add it when i serve it with the pasta

place all the ingredients in the processor and blend till it is a paste

all the ingredients ready to process

remove from the bowl and place in 1 cup containers which is enough for 1 pound of pasta. i tripled the recipe and got these 5 containers. top each container with a little olive oil to keep the air from getting to it.
at this point, it can be used, stored the the frig or frozen for winter use.

when i serve it with pasta, i remove it from the frig and let it come to room temperature. just before the pasta is cooked, place about 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water in the serving bowl and stir in the pesto. it will then be easier to mix with the cooked pasta. i do this for all the pesto recipes that i use with pasta.


finished garlic scape pesto

my family always expects my potato salad to be served on the 4th. (that potato salad is in an earlier blog) we always have 16-30 people depending on the year. this year it was a mere 18 for the birthday party.

i wanted to try something different and i found these wonderful small potatoes and they were already a mixture of red, white and blue potatoes. what could be more perfect and in a 5 pound bag to boot! what follows is a very simple recipe and everyone seemed to enjoy it
red white and blue-garlic scape potato salad

5 pounds small potatoes(i used the three colors but red or yukon gold would do)
8 stalks celery, minced
1/2 cup garlic scapes, processed
1 bunch parsley, minced...FRESH ONLY
1cup good quality olive oil
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

clean and cook the potatoes.do not peel them. this is a skins -on -potato salad... boil for 17-20 minutes only. they will continue to cook as they cool. drain and let come to room temperature. cut into desired size. add the rest of the ingredients and gently mix. adjust seasonings and chill.

ENJOY!

asparagus - garlic scape soup

 i have been making asparagus soup since we started harvesting from our bed some 40 odd years ago. it has always gotten good comments from the asparagus lovers ( with this vegetable there are lovers or haters). now, i get raves! about 6 or 7 years ago, i learned about garlic scapes on a trip to the regional market in syracuse. what a wonderful part of the garlic plant. it happens to bolt from the garlic plant in the mid to late part of the asparagus season. i use them for asparagus soup but i freeze them without blanching them for use in the winter for all kinds of recipes. so , here goes....


asparagus harvested fresh from the garden, ends snapped off

i  made this soup and took the pictures 3 weeks ago and carefully wrote down the amounts. as with most of my recipes, the amounts are not critical. one can use more asparagus, no scapes, more onions, etc.  it is not critical. by the way,  i can not find the list so as usual i am winging it. i think that the most important part for a cook is tasting the final product and adjusting the seasonings.

ingredients
2 pounds asparagus
1 large handful garlic scapes
1 onion, chopped in chunks
1quart vegetable or chicken broth
2 cups half and half (fat free or regular, heavy cream or soy)...it does not matter
chopped chives...decorative
salt and pepper to taste


asparagus tips and chives to be added with cream



garlic scape in garden



harvested garlic scapes

pour broth into a dutch oven or large pot and add a large handful of scapes and onion. cook for about 5 minutes and add asparagus. you can chop vegetables if you wish but i do not. it is all going to get pureed when it is tender anyway' 

garlic scapes and onions in broth

cook asparagus , scapes until very tender. puree with wand or processor.  add tips and chives and cook 1 minute and turn off heat. now the trick...this can be refrigerated, frozen, cooled, etc. as long as the cream has not been added. when you are ready to serve this, reheat and add the milk product which has been warmed for a minute or 2 at the most in the microwave.adjust seasonings. it can now be served hot, warm or cold and all the asparagus lovers will rave!


ENJOY!

this is a P.S.
THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN FRESH GREENS FROM THE GARDEN