Pesto Presto

I have garlic breath.

Some might consider this a bit of a problem; I'm OK with it. Don't worry—I'm at home on my couch far away from crowds. Yes, I'll brush my teeth later, but right now, I can't get enough of the pesto I made the other day using garlic scapes.

This weekend, I experimented with the short-lived delicacy for the first time. If you're unfamiliar, garlic scapes are the curly tendrils that grow above ground as the bulb is forming underneath. The season is brief, so I suggest getting your hands on them as soon as you can.

To truly capture their flavor, I decided on a quick pesto.

Garlic Scape Pesto

8-10 garlic scapes, roughly chopped

1/2 cup basil, packed

1/3 cup walnuts, toasted

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place scapes, basil, walnuts and lemon juice in a food processor and blend until well combined. Slowly drizzle in oil and process again until well combined. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

I used a good portion of the garlic-y, green goodness for dinner the first night, combining it with freshly cooked fava beans, chopped toasted walnuts and kamut. I topped the dish with a fried egg (there's something amazing about pesto and a runny egg—well, pretty much anything a runny egg). I've been using the leftover pesto to spread on whole-grain crackers.

There's only a handful of scapes remaining in my fridge. The plan is to quickly sauté them and toss them on pizza with some fresh mozzarella and olive oil.

Guess I'll be scraping by on scapes until next weekend—that is, if the farmers' market still has them around.