Homemade Pasta with Garlic Scape Pesto

Hi! I know it has been a very long time (almost a year, to be exact.) I have missed this space, and you.

I’m back today to share this recipe for homemade pasta with garlic scape pesto. I have been pretty uninspired in the kitchen after a winter which has been dark in more ways than one. But the coming of spring and summer, and all the market produce that is abounding, have woken me up again and inspired me to create. Finally!

My friend Manami and I got together one Sunday to make pasta with our favorite garlic scape pesto. Garlic scapes are the stalks that grow from the bulbs of garlic plants. They’re extremely flavorful and fresh and I can never resist picking up a bundle of wild, curly scapes when I see them in the market. I love sauteeing them, adding them to confit or turning them into pesto, like we did here.

Homemade pasta seems like a big project (and it’s definitely not as quick as cooking a box of dry pasta) but it’s really, really simple- I promise. I have even made homemade pasta without a machine; just barebones with my hands and a rolling pin. A pasta maker will give you a thinner, finer and smoother result, but in the end, it’s all delicious. Use what you got!

If you, too, have been feeling uninspired in the kitchen or in general, I hope you can find some light and joy in this season, and remember that good things take time to grow. I also hope you make this pasta, because it is extremely delicious and very worth it.

You can watch a video of Manami and I making this pasta here! And get the recipe below.

xoxoxo

Chaya

Yields: 4 servings

For the pasta dough:

2 cups all purpose or 00 flour
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

For the garlic scape pesto:

10-12 garlic scapes
1 cup shelled, un-roasted pistachios
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
1 bunch fresh basil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Fresh chive blossoms, for serving

1. Make the dough: start by making a mound out of the flour, directly on the countertop. Make a deep crater in the top and add the eggs, olive oil, and salt. 
2. Use a fork to break up the eggs without breaking through the walls of the flour mound. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of cold water across the mixture and keep mixing until you’ve got a dough coming together.
3. Use your hands to bring the dough together into a ball and knead for 7-10 minutes, until the dough is silky smooth and elastic. 
4. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
5. Meanwhile, make the pesto: add the garlic scapes, pistachios, Parmesan and basil to a food processor or high powered blender. Pulse, letting the mixture come together. Drizzle in the olive oil as the pesto blends, until smooth. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.
6. Roll out and cut the pasta according to the pasta maker’s instructions. Lightly flour finished batches of pasta and wrap into little “nests”. Let rest for 15 minutes.
7. Bring a heavily salted pot of water to a rolling boil. If making fettucine or spaghetti, cook for 4-5 minutes, until al dente. (Other shapes might take faster or slightly longer to cook, depending on thickness.)
8. Reserve a cup or two of the pasta water to mix with the pesto and create a sauce. Drain the pasta and rinse under cool running water for 30 seconds.
9. Return the pasta to the pot and toss with the pesto, drizzling in pasta water as needed to create a creamy, emulsified sauce.
10. Plate the pasta, topping with more freshly grated Parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil, fresh basil and chive blossoms and black pepper. Eat immediately.