For those of you who planted garlic in the fall, it’s time to be harvesting your scapes. Garlic scapes are the flower stalks of the garlic plant and appear at the top of each garlic plant. The thing about them is that they’re delicious.

You can distinguish the scape from the leaves as the scapes are cylindrical and grow in a long curly tubular pattern at the top of the garlic plant. The leaves are more broad and flat.

To harvest the garlic scapes, cut them with a knife or scissors just where the scape starts to emerge from the top of the plant. Try to harvest them before the flower opens. The entire thing is edible, tender, and tastes like a milder form of garlic. Use it just as you would use garlic.

For a unique and delicious recipe option, try this one courtesy of our raw vegan chef and friend Doug McNish.

Local Garlic Scape Pesto

This recipe highlights a simple and effective way to create a light pesto utilizing fresh garlic scapes and herbs from the garden. Yields 1 cup (250mL) of pesto

  • 2 cups fresh garlic scapes, roughly chopped
  • ½ cup flat leaf parsley, stems removed
  • ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
  • ¼ cup seeded, roughly chopped red pepper
  • 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 tbsp cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

1. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade process the garlic scape, parsley, basil, red pepper, lemon juice salt and garlic until smooth. You will need to stop the machine once and using a rubber spatula scrape down the sides as necessary.
2. With the machine running add the olive oil slowly through the feed tube. Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container and store for up to 3 days refrigerated.

Tips

  • You may substitute the olive oil for flax, chia or hemp seed oil in the samequantity.
  • You may substitute the basil with an equal amount of fresh parsley or cilantro
For more recipes, check out Doug’s blog or his new cookbook, Eat Raw, Eat Well