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.

Can-do Attitude

Seven weeks—oh, and 1 day.

That's how long ago I sliced lemons, sprinkled them generously with kosher salt and packed them into a Ball jar with bay leaves and peppercorns. It was the first time I tried preserving lemons.

I thought 3 to 4 weeks—the suggested canning time frame—would take forever. Nightly, after brushing my teeth, I methodically shook the jar to stir things up per Paula Wolfert's recommendation. It turned into a ritual; in fact, "Melissa shaking her lemons" became a joke among family and friends. But let's not go there.

Before I knew it, the lemons were more than ready. Tonight was the night to see if my patience had paid off.

I opened the jar, and it smelled like Mr. Clean. And although I've never tasted the toxic solution, the fermenting fruit has the sort of flavor I would imagine coming from a bottle stamped with the muscular bald man. Oddly enough, I continued to eat it; I was intrigued by the flavor.

For dinner, I turned to a Serious Eats recipe I found the week I read The New York Times piece about preserving lemons. I put my own twists on it, substituting the produce I picked up this weekend at farmer's markets. It was healthy, and it was a hit.

Farro, White Bean and Preserved Lemon Salad (adapted from Blake Royer via Serious Eats)

1 cup farro

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 spring onion stalks, thinly sliced

2 green garlic stalks, thinly sliced

2 artichoke hearts, boiled in water with halved lemon for approximately 15 minutes (or until tender) then brushed with olive oil and grilled for 3 to 5 minutes per side, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2-3 tablespoon diced preserved lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare farro according to package directions (I mixed the grain with 3 cups of cold water, brought it to a boil, turned it down to a simmer and covered the pot. It cooked for approximately 40 minutes.) Drain and set aside.

2. In the meantime, heat olive oil over medium in a large skillet. Add spring onions and spring garlic; cook about 3 to 5 minutes, or until they start to become tender. Stir occasionally.

3. Stir in artichokes, herbs, beans, lemon and farro to heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with more olive oil, if desired.

When combined with all the other flavors, the preserved lemons are present but don't overpower. It offered a nice, bright flavor to complement the spring veggies and nutty whole grain.

The now-opened jar has been placed in the fridge. Guess I'll have to find another nightly ritual.