# 341: It’s Time for Garlic Scapes

Harvesting scapes and how to use them, how to make garlic scape pesto and ways to use both.

It’s Time for Garlic Scapes

I’ve been growing garlic for, uh let’s see, over four decades now. It’s a crop that rarely fails me except the year I decided to see just how closely I could plant together cloves for seed and also try xeriscaping, low or no watering, of them. I really should have known better than to do such tight planting and just remember the words of my dear friend Heidi from years ago when she said to me, “Treat your plants like kids—give them enough room to grow, some sunshine, food and water and they’ll be fine.” Perhaps my little xeriscape experiment would have worked decades ago when snow could be seen covering much of the Olympic Mountains all the way up into September when we had wetter and cooler summers but last year’s harvest was small, only providing me with enough “seed” for this year’s crop. Lesson learned. When I planted last fall, I was careful to give every single clove more than ample room to stretch out and feel at home. Fixing the faucet in the garden helped too as I no longer had to drag a hose over to it making it much much easier to water crops during dry times.

I’ve grown many different garlic varieties over the years—hard neck, soft neck, red, purple, white—finally settling on one hard-neck variety. About 15 or so years ago, I begged one head of it from Duncan’s dad and propagated it by separating and planting all six cloves it contained which, when planted, grown and harvested, gave me six garlic heads which I in turn separated and planted the next fall giving me 36 or so heads, which I dutifully separated and planted the following year. Now, in year three, there were enough to hold back about one hundred head for using in the kitchen and planting the rest.

Generally I find about two-hundred head is just about enough for two households, Duncan’s and mine. Over the years, I’ve given away garlic to others so they can start their own crop. I remember asking his dad if he knew the name of the variety when he gave me that one original head which started it all but he couldn’t remember so I just call it John’s Big Red.

Before the garlic is fully grown and dry enough to harvest, each plant puts up a flower called a scape. From the moment I plant the cloves, I am already eagerly awaiting the scape harvest and last week the scapes were ready!

From the shelf above my baking counter, I pulled down a basket I’ve had since I was sixteen, walked through the garden gate and with scissors cut the scapes from the mother plant. By the time I finished I had harvested three baskets full! Then it was into the kitchen. There are sooooo many ways to use scapes but my favorite is garlic scape pesto. Over the years I’ve found that if I don’t have nuts or extra garlic cloves on hand, it’s just fine without so I’ve marked those ingredients as optional. I know there are some recipes that say to freeze pesto without the cheese and add it just before you are going to use it but I’ve found that it is just fine to add Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese before freezing. And I’m a stickler, or perhaps a bit of a cheese snob when I tell you to please use Parmigiano-Reggiano in this recipe because it really is the best! OK, ‘nuff said. Here’s the recipe for you followed by a bunch of different ways to use scapes and your delicious homemade garlic scape pesto.

Recipe: Garlic Scape Pesto

What You’ll Need

• Knife and cutting mat

• Food processor with a metal blade

• About 1 cup (100 g) fresh garlic scapes chopped to about 2.5”

• 2 cloves garlic chopped up a bit (optional)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts (optional)

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

How to Do It

1. Add the chopped up scapes, chopped cloves of garlic, and salt into the work-bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until the pieces are broken down way small. Scrape down the sides of the work-bowl with a flexible spatula and process again.

2. Add 2 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts (if you want) and process again.

3. Add 1/2 cup olive oil and process. Scrape down sides and process again.

4. Add 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and pulse a few times until incorporated.

100g of garlic scapes makes about one cup of garlic scape pesto. You can double the amounts when making, too.

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15 Ways to Use Garlic Scapes

1. Chop, freeze, and add to soups and stews through the year.

2. Chop, sauté, and add to omelettes and scrambles.

3. Stir fry with soy sauce, a little brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds.

4. Top baked potatoes with pesto.

5. Make pesto stuffed eggs as an alternative to deviled eggs.

6. Add garlic scape pesto to a vinaigrette made with champagne vinegar and drizzle over sliced sun ripened tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil leaves. Heaven!

7. Domenica Marchetti (also here on Substack) pickles her garlic scapes.

8. Toss garlic scapes with oil, set them on the grill, turn often until they are a little charred. Add S&P, a little sprinkling of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a squeeze of lemon to taste.

9. Cook up some new potatoes and roll them around in garlic scape pesto.

10. Add a little plop of pesto to the top of gazpacho.

11. Make a frittata with pesto, sautéed mushrooms and Italian sausage.

12. For a savory oatmeal breakfast add chopped up bacon, goat cheese, marinated red peppers (my favorites are Mama Lil’s Pickled Hungarian Goatherd Peppers), and garlic scape pesto to your bowl and stir it around a bit.

13. I “doctor-up” store-bought frozen cauliflower crust pizza with pesto plops, marinated red peppers, and extra grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Follow the regular directions on the box for baking. At the end, broil the top for 30-60 seconds or until it bubbles.

14. Process scapes in a food processor then combine with softened butter and a small squeeze of lemon and pinch of salt for garlic scape butter and use for grilled cheese sandwiches. Be sure to add some scape pesto to the inside of your grilled cheese sandwich, too!

15. Add it to a bowl of minestrone.

One last thing…I ran across the little movie of my beloved GP in the garden from 2020. You can see the garlic in the background. I do miss her.

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