Garlic Scape Pesto Gnocchi

I am a big fan of the garlic scape in the spring and early summer.  A garlic scape is the flower stalk of the hardneck garlic plant - it is removed to concentrate energy in the bulb.  It is also delicious spring eating.  It has a much milder flavor than garlic, but can be used where one uses garlic.  To me, garlic scapes and strawberries are the beginning of the season of local produce in Howard County and the rest of the mid-Atlantic.  

Steamed garlic scapes are almost sweet.  Sauteed garlic scapes remind me of garlic-sauteed green beans.  They can be blanched and tossed into salads. But one of the great joys of garlic scapes is the infinite number of sauce preparations that the simple garlic scape can make sublime.  Tonight, for dinner we had garlic scape "pesto" gnocchi, as well as some steak with garlic scape "pesto" as a lovely condiment.  The color is electric green.  As always, this type of preparation is a make to taste preparation - a guideline, not a recipe.  I use a blender because I can drizzle in oil slowly when the top is off, but a food processor would work just as well.

Gnocchi with Garlic Scape "Pesto"

Ingredients:

1 lb garlic scapes, grassy and woody parts trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces and then rinsed in cool water

1/4 lb good Parmesan cheese, cut into chunks (please don't use the pre-shredded or pre-ground if you can avoid it)

Juice of 2 small lemons

2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)

2 teaspoons pepper

1/4 cup to 3/4 cup olive oil

Prepared gnocchi, prepare fresh gnocchi according to package instructions

Method:

- Place scape pieces, cheese, lemon juice, salt, and peper into a blender, with the hole in the top lid removed.  - Begin blending together on low.

- Drizzle in olive oil slowly.  

- Increase speed slowly to highest setting, keep drizzling in olive oil.

- Blend until garlic scape pieces and cheese are completely blended in, and sauce has reached desired consistency.

- Place gnocchi, warm, and half a cup of the water it was cooked in in a pan on medium.

- Add enough sauce to cover - roughly one cup.

- Heat until sauce just begins to bubble.

- Remove for heat and seve immediately.

This makes way more than you need.  It was great on steak, it's great on bread, or pretty much anywhere else something garlicky would taste good.