Green Garlic Pesto

Saturday was the first day of the Canandaigua Farmers' Market season. (yay!) There was only a smattering of booths but among them was Honeyhill Farms from Livonia, NY selling pickled garlic scapes (delicious!) and fresh green garlic.

Green garlic.

Green garlic are the fresh shoots of the immature garlic plant (source). The woman I spoke to at the Honeyhill Farms booth suggested I use some to make pesto.

I'm so glad I did. The flavor is phenomenal! Spicy, intense, and fresh, this pesto will perk anything up. I'm planning to use it on pasta but I spread some on a Boca burger yesterday with fantastic results. And I've also topped a few tortilla chips with it. I'm not sure everyone would go for that, but I'm betting a thin spread of it would taste great on a cracker topped with cheese. And, come to think of it, maybe it could be mixed with a bit of sour cream and mayo for a veggie dip...

In an effort to cut down on the fat (however healthy) inherent in pesto, I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light. If you prefer, substitute the water for more Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Green Garlic Pesto

6 shoots of green garlic, chopped into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup warm water
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil*

Drop green garlic through food chute with food processor on; process until minced. Place next 4 ingredients (nuts through pepper) in processor; process 10 seconds. Combine water and oil in a measuring cup. With processor on, slowly pour oil mixture through food chute, processing just until blended. Taste and adjust seasonings. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

*If using on pasta, add more oil until the desired consistency is reached.