Those are garlic scapes! They are beautiful AND delicious (don't they look like they belong in Alice in Wonderland?). They taste - surprisingly enough - like garlic, though they have a more mellow flavor than you would get if you just ate a clove of garlic. I got these guys at the farmers' market, and I think a farmers' market or maybe a gourmet grocery store are your best bet for finding them - I did not see them at the regular grocery store.
The sign at the market said they are great for pesto, so that is what I decided to make. I used walnuts instead of pine nuts because 1) I thought the more mild walnut flavor would be a good accompaniment and 2) I had some in the freezer. Pesto is a super easy and delicious way to make a quick summer meal, and this version was no different. I made it in my food processor, but you could also use a blender. To prepare:
Wash the scapes and cut them into manageable pieces (I used about five scapes, and cut them into fourths).
With the food processor running, add in a handful of walnuts (about half to 3/4 of a cup). Add in the scapes. Stream in extra virgin olive oil until the pesto has reached the consistency you want. Taste and adjust ingredient amounts as needed. Scrape the pesto into a bowl, and fold in grated parmesan cheese (about an ounce). Taste and add more cheese if needed, and add salt if needed (parmesan cheese is pretty salty, so try to get comfortable with the amount of cheese first).
Serve over pasta, with additional parmesan cheese on the side.
I love the color! This dish is VERY garlicky, so be prepared for that. It would also be delicious to use half basil and half scapes, which would mellow out the flavor.
Apparently I am not as ingenious as I thought because after I made this dish, I did a Google search on scapes to try to learn more about them and this is the first result I got! Haha, great minds think alike I guess. I take this as a sign that my flavor-combining skills are improving!
Enjoy!
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