GARLIC SCAPE AND ALMOND PESTO
Makes about 1 cup
10 garlic scapes, finely chopped
1/3 to 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (to taste and texture)
1/3 cup slivered almonds (you could toast them lightly, if you’d like) You can also use walnuts or the more traditional (and also more expensive) Pine Nuts.
About 1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt
Cut off the flower head at the top end of the scape any snap off the fibrous end at its natural breaking point. Discard tops and bottoms and cut remaining scape into 1″ chunks. Put the chopped scapes in the bowl of a food processor and process till finely chopped. You can also mince them with a knife. Add 1/3 cup of the cheese, almonds and half the olive oil. Process to blend all the ingredients and then add the remainder of the oil and, if you want, more cheese. If you like the texture, stop; if you’d like it a little thinner, add some more oil. Season with salt.
If you’re not going to use the pesto immediately, press a piece of plastic against the surface to keep it from oxidizing. The pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days or packed airtight and frozen for a couple of months, by which time tomatoes should be at their juciest.
Use on pasta, as a dip for bread or mixed with butter as a spread for garlic bread.