Although I’ve been to my local farmer’s market countless times over the past few years, I’d never really noticed the garlic scapes curled up in their display basket like so many green garter snakes. No, I’ve always been wooed by sexier produce, like ruby-red sour cherries for making bright, juicy pies; thick, crispy cucumbers; and sweet, jewel-toned plums the size of ping-pong balls. As you can see from today’s haul, not much has changed.
Except for the appearance of a swirled bunch of garlic scapes in the lower-left corner of the photo.
Frankly, I wouldn’t have bought garlic scapes today either, except that in the past week they’ve popped up on some of my favorite websites. They all made garlic scapes, aka the immature flower stalks of the garlic plant, sound so delicious that it seemed practically criminal not to try them if the opportunity arose. So when I saw them at the market, they practically hopped into my bag of their own accord. I’ve never been one to say no to foundling veggies—I have a big heart, what can I say?
Of course, like so many other obscure vegetables I’ve picked up on a whim, once I got home, I wasn’t sure exactly what to do with them. Sauté them in butter with a splash of white wine? Sliver them over a green salad? Whiz them into an improvised pesto? I decided on the latter, since I had nuts and Parmesan on hand, along with a few pounds of baby red potatoes just waiting to soak up homemade pesto.
Before I started, though, I decided I should taste a garlic scape in its natural state. I’d read that their flavor was garlicky without being overly pungent, so I bit into one with great anticipation. It broke with a satisfying snap and released a mild garlic sweetness as I chewed. I couldn’t help but smile.
And then that same sweet scape punched me right in the mouth. Socked me with a sledgehammer of raw garlic heat that set me sputtering as my eyes watered.
Needless to say, this didn’t bode well for pesto. Google offered up an answer to overly hot raw garlic: cook it. But the idea of cooking anything green and destined for a pesto didn’t appeal to me, so I decided to take a gamble. I’d make the pesto, boil the potatoes, and then toss them together immediately, in hopes that the residual heat from the potatoes would take the edge off the garlic.
So I devised a garlic scape pesto recipe, whizzed it up, and took a taste. It was flavorful, but as feared, also tear-jerkingly pungent! I crossed my fingers, boiled my potato wedges, and tossed the steaming hot potatoes with the pesto. Like magic, the rude garlic heat disappeared, resulting in fresh, garlicky potatoes that were delicious served hot or cold.
So tart cherry pies, cool cucumber salads, consider yourselves warned—there’s a hot new game in town.
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Red Potatoes with Garlic Scape and Walnut Pesto
This pesto, though pungent when just made, mellows considerably when tossed with hot potatoes or pasta. Better yet, unlike basil pesto which turns brown almost immediately, this pesto remains green for hours on end. Pesto recipe adapted from Mia’s Garlic Scape Pesto recipe on One Veggie at a Time, and Josh Kilmer-Purcell’s and Dr. Brent Ridge’s Garlic Scape Pesto with Hazelnuts recipe on Beekman 1802.
Prep time: 50 minutes Serves: 4
Ingredients
4 garlic scapes (approx. ¼ pound with flower heads attached)
4 garlic scapes (approx. ¼ pound with flower heads attached)
¼ cup walnuts
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 Tbsp olive oil (more if desired)
¼ tsp salt, plus more to taste
2 pounds baby red potatoes
Directions
Remove flower pod (the bulbous, pointy part) from each garlic scape and discard. Chop the scapes roughly; should yield about ⅔ cup.
Remove flower pod (the bulbous, pointy part) from each garlic scape and discard. Chop the scapes roughly; should yield about ⅔ cup.
Place scapes, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and salt in a food processor and pulse until nearly smooth. Add more salt to taste. Cover and place in the refrigerator. (Makes about ¾ cup of pesto.)
Wash and scrub potatoes. Cut into quarters and place in a large pot. Add cold water until potatoes are just covered. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Boil for 10 minutes or so, until potatoes are just fork tender.
Working quickly, drain potatoes and return them to the cooking pot. Add 6 Tbsp garlic scape and walnut pesto and toss gently. (You will have leftover pesto—save for pasta the next day!) Let potatoes rest for a few minutes and serve, or chill and serve cold.
Enjoy!
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I'm Lee, an RD thriving on a healthy plant based diet.
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