Besto-Pesto

Here is it - finally - the recipe and photos for my Garlic Scape-Kale Pesto recipe. We are still using what this recipe made earlier in the week; tonight I added a teaspoon to each serving of my stand-by red lentil soup along with serving more pasta tossed with the garlic scape-kale pesto (hard to get enough of that!) and some chopped red peppers from the freezer.

Garlic Scape - Kale Pesto

Ingredients:


1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes) cut into ¼-inch slices

3-5 leaves lacinato (dinosaur) kale, tough stems removed and then slice into sideways strips
1/3 cup walnuts, pecans, or pine nuts (toasting these adds a nice twist)
3/4 cup olive oil

~ 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 

1/2 teaspoon salt
 (I omitted since there is enough salt from the cheese for me)
black pepper to taste (I did not add any)

Directions:

Place scapes, kale, and nuts in the bowl of a food processor and grind until well combined and somewhat smooth but not purely pureed. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated but there is still some "chunkiness". Transfer mix to a mixing bowl.  Add parmesan, salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 1-1/2 cups of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Or transfer to an ice-cube tray and freeze to be defrosted and used one cube at a time at your leisure.  The latter approach makes scape pesto available even in mid-winter, when it’s use can make a scrumptious dish.

This pesto is bright green in contrast to the beautiful light green pesto made just from the garlic scapes.

 (Photo: Variety of garlic scapes and lacinato kale leaves, with stems removed)

(Photo: Garlic Scape - Kale Pesto on a toasted bagel, showing it is still a bit "chunky" rather than blended smooth)

Enjoy, enjoy - there is no shortage of ways to use any pesto, let alone a pesto made with kale, my favorite vegetable.

"Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row"

Diana Dyer, MS, RD