All About Garlic Scapes (and a Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe)

Garlic scapes, the flower stalk on hard neck garlic, is a fleeting late spring treat. Learn all about the types of garlic that makes scapes, when to harvest, and a brilliant simple pistachio pesto recipe to make with them.
Garlic Scape Pesto
Adapted by a recipe from Epicurious
Enough to dress a pound of pasta 10 large garlic scapes
1/3 cup unsalted pistachios (or other nut of choice)
1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or other Parmesan cheese
1/4 to 1/2 tsp sea salt
Good grind of fresh ground black pepper (about 1/8 tsp)
1/3 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil
Toast your pistachios, either in a skillet, or in a 350 degree oven, until fragrant and slightly browned.
Wash your scapes, and trim off the flat top above the flower part, then cut into 2" pieces.
Place trimmed scapes into a food processor and run for about 1 minute. Add pistachios and run for another minute, until finely chopped. Add in cheese, salt and pepper and then slowly drizzle in the oil until a paste forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. When tossing with pasta, save out some of the pasta water to thin out pesto and make a more creamy sauce.
TIMESTAMPS
1:40 All about different garlic varieties
5:53 Garlic does NOT make seed
7:38 The Grandma Miller garlic story
8:50 When to to harvest garlic scapes
10:18 Pesto, FINALLY