Sunday in the Kitchen

Summer is here, the weather has finally warmed and things are really starting to happen out in our garden! It was a slow start with a pretty cool spring, but with several hot and sunny days in a row, we are finally starting to enjoy the fruits of our labour. Although we really didn't have to do much to get those garlic scapes, above, that grow wild along the edge of our yard. Garlic scapes are the flower stalk of the garlic plant and are so yummy. They can be used in any way that you would use garlic, however they do have a much milder flavour than the bulbs. And now is the time to head out and pick them! I harvested this bunch that I blended up into a batch of pesto adapted from a basil pesto recipe I think was passed on many years ago from my mother-in-law.
Garlic Scape Pesto
1 C scapes chopped up
1/4 C parmesan cheese
1/4 C almonds
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1/8-1/4 C olive oil 
Place ingredients in food processor except for oil. Blend, adding oil as needed until you get the consistency you like. I like mine a little chunkier and less oily - I usually make pesto with my mortar and pestle, but find the scapes stringier and harder to crush up this way, so a food processor works best for this recipe. 


So you have your pesto, now what? Well, anytime I make pesto, I know it's going to be a pizza night! I love using pesto on pizza in place of the tomato sauce, and this recipe makes just enough to cover one pizza crust - my very favourite homemade pizza dough recipe can be found here. Roll out the dough (I'm lazy and just press it onto the pan), top with tomatoes, peppers, cheese, and whatever else strikes your fancy. Bake in a 400F oven until that crust is nice a brown and that cheese is nice and bubbly. So delish - go on and try it! Scapes won't be around much longer!