They’re curly, cute, and gone in a blink. Garlic scapes are like summer’s well-kept secret—here for a moment, bold but not bossy, and packing just enough punch to make every dish sing.

The Secret Sauce of Summer: Garlic Scape Pesto from the Port Orchard Market

We found these gorgeous green spirals at Rolling Bounty Farm at the Port Orchard Farmer’s Market. I love when food feels like a little treasure hunt—one moment I’m thinking “what are these alien-green twirls?” and the next I’m putting them in everything but coffee.

Garlic scapes have this soft garlic flavor—gentler than a clove, with just enough attitude to elevate whatever it touches. I blitzed them into pesto, tossed them in a frittata, brushed them onto BBQ oysters and clams. And then I promptly went back to the market and bought every bunch they had.

Use scapes like garlic, or better yet, like the seasonal love note they are. This pesto is now my go-to “add a swirl of magic” moment on everything from pasta to grilled bread to eggs.

Recipe: Garlic Scape Pesto

Ingredients

• 1 bunch garlic scapes
• ¼ cup toasted walnuts
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Trim flower bulbs off scapes and cut stems into 1″ pieces.
2. Add all ingredients to a food processor.
3. Pulse until smooth. Adjust oil as needed for texture.

Tips & Swaps:

• Sub walnuts with pine nuts, almonds, or sunflower seeds.
• Freeze in ice cube trays for single-serve bursts of summer flavor year-round.
• Add lemon zest or juice for brightness.

Try Garlic Scape Pesto on grilled oysters!