It’s the end of garlic scape season and I used up the remaining crop to make a pesto.

I tried to balance the hot, spicy flavor of the scapes with the cool mouthfeel of spearmint. It turned out great and was perfect as a spread on warm sourdough or in a pasta salad that I made for the holiday weekend.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups chopped scapes
• 1 cup nuts (I used pumpkin seeds this time)
• 6 oz shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup oil
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 4 cups packed spearmint leaves
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• A pinch of sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a food processor, blend the scapes, nuts, cheese, oil and salt until finely chopped.
2. If your food processor is big enough to do all of this at once, go for it, otherwise use a rubber spatula to put the scape mixture in a mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Then, in the processor, add the mint leaves, lemon juice and the pinch of sugar. blend until finely chopped.
4. Combine the mint and scape mixtures and stir until well combined.
5. Season with salt and pepper.