It’s definitely pesto season! This will be the third giant batch I’ve made this summer. My first batch was the traditional basil with garlic and pine nuts, my second was a delicious batch with the addition of fresh garden chives (from our lovely friends Josh and Doro,) and the third was this amazing concoction. I scored about a pound of fresh garlic scapes at the Red Wing Farmer’s Market and decided to make them all into pesto. You can keep adding oil and tiny bits of water and process this very smooth (as pictured above) or, you can let it remain a bit chunky. Either way, I think you’ll love what I came up with. We’re having more tonight tossed with linguine and chopped grape tomatoes!

for one big batch of pesto (approximately 1 quart):

approximately 1 lb. fresh garlic scapes, washed, chopped

two big handfuls of fresh, clean basil leaves

1 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (or more, as needed)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast (or more, as needed)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

water (a Tablespoon at a time to reach desired consistency)

Note: Depending on the size of your food processor, you may need to process the pesto in batches. I have a pretty big food processor and I did this in two batches.

Place ingredients in the bowl of a large food processor and pulse until you reach desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a large jar, or a few smaller jars and cover tightly. This will keep in your refrigerator for about a week.

Pesto is an amazing topping for baguette, tossed with pasta, paired with your favorite vegan cheeses, or given as a hostess gift.

Enjoy!

~Melissa