Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto
Garlic scape is a perfect ingredient for pesto! Thanks to its pungent garlic aroma and unique texture, garlic scape pesto can easily become a standout addition to your collection of homemade pestos. Moreover, making vegan garlic scape pesto is very simple. Let’s give it a try!
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What is Garlic Scape?
Garlic scapes are the curly flower stalks that grow from the bulbs of garlic plants. They are typically removed to encourage the garlic bulbs—our familiar cooking ingredient—to grow larger.
Garlic scapes range in color from green to dark green and have a mild, slightly sweet, and garlicky flavor. Their texture is firm and crisp when fresh, quite similar to asparagus. They can be used in many dishes not only in Western cuisine but also in Chinese and other Asian cuisines. Some of popular dishes made from garlic scapes are pesto, beef and garlic scape stir fry, salads, and even as a topping for pizzas or pasta. If stir-fried garlic scapes are a popular recipe in Asian cuisine, garlic scape pesto has become more and more popular worldwide as a pasta pairing.
Ingredients of Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto
Garlic Scape Pesto is a type of vegan pesto, made with ingredients such as garlic scapes, olive oil, nuts, vinegar, and salt. This makes it a recipe suitable for a variety of diets.
Below is the recipe for a 150g (5.3 oz) jar of pesto:
- 100g (1 cup) garlic scapes
- 50ml (1/2 cup) olive oil
- 30g (1/4 cup) nuts (walnut/ pine nut/ cashew nut/ peanut, etc.)
- 1 tbsp vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the nuts, popular choices are walnuts or pine nuts. However, you can also experiment with cashews or peanuts. I tried using peanuts to test the flavor, and it turned out amazing!
How to Make Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto
Believe me, making garlic scape pesto is incredibly easy! With a blender, you can make it in just 10 minutes.
Step 1. Preparation
- Wash the garlic scapes, trim off the woody ends and the flower bulb (if any), then cut them into small pieces. If you’re using unroasted nuts, roast them until cooked.
Step 2. Blending
- Add all the ingredients to the blender and blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then, open the blender, stir the mixture well, and blend for another 1–2 minutes until smooth.
Step 3. Storing
- Transfer the pesto to a clean and dry jar. Thanks to the olive oil, you can store the garlic scape pesto in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. If you’d like to keep it longer, divide the pesto into small cubes using an ice cube tray. This way, the pesto can be stored for up to 6 months.
Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto
Ingredients
- 100 g garlic scapes 1 cup
- 50 ml olive oil 1/2 cup
- 30 g nuts (walnut/ pine nut/ cashew nut/ peanut, etc.) 1/4 cup
- 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
Step 1. Preparation
- Wash the garlic scapes, trim off the woody ends and the flower bulb (if any), then cut them into small pieces. If you’re using unroasted nuts, roast them until cooked.
Step 2. Blending
- Add all the ingredients to the blender and blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then, open the blender, stir the mixture well, and blend for another 1–2 minutes until smooth.
Step 3. Storing
- Transfer the pesto to a clean and dry jar. Thanks to the olive oil, you can store the garlic scape pesto in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. If you’d like to keep it longer, divide the pesto into small cubes using an ice cube tray. This way, the pesto can be stored for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
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