Garlic Scape and Almond Pesto

Scapes are the wild and curly shoots that spring from the tops of garlic plants. They're brilliantly green, can be thick or thin, curved or corkscrewed, and, depending on how they're cut, just long or very long. They've got a mild garlic fragrance and a mellow garlic flavor. Smell the cut end or snap one and the scent will be a cross between garlic and summer grass. It's got a freshness that garlic loses as it develops. The scapes, which look as beautiful in the garden as they do at the market, are meant to be cut -- cutting them strengthens the garlic bulbs that are growing underground -- so it's a win-win for the garlic and us, the cooks. Although scapes needn't be cooked. In fact, if you do cook them, you should cook them lightly, maybe in a quick stir-fry. I think you get the most from garlic scapes by using them raw. They're terrific chopped or very thinly sliced added to a tuna or chicken salad, stirred into hot rice or scattered over a salad, the way you might scatter sliced scallions or an herb. And they're wonderful as the base of a chunky pesto, which is how they are used here. I was going to put the pesto over quickly grilled scallops, but it seemed to cry out for pasta, so it got stirred into penne. At least the part that was left after my husband stopped dipping bread into it got mixed with the pasta. But he had the right idea -- because the pesto is chunky and so bright tasting, a spoonful on a hunk of bread makes a really good nibble with white wine. I was going to say that it's too bad that the scape moment doesn't coincide with tomato season, since they're be stupendous together, but then I realized I can make them coincide: Garlic scape pesto is freezable!