Arugula Pesto


I won't have any basil in my garden until July, so I will have to make do with what I have.

Arugula seems to do best in the garden during late spring, early summer, before the heat and humidity knock it down (same goes for cilantro around here). It can stand a cool night.

It is by far, my favorite green, I eat it everyday.

It is spicy and peppery and needs nothing more than some good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
I love it on sandwiches, especially tuna, so I was thinking, why not arugula pesto?

No, I didn't invent it.

This was GREAT folded into scrambled eggs, and terrific on pasta.

and you know me, I had to use it to make "snacks", so I used it on crostini w/ prosciutto and bufala mozzarella. Put it under the broiler and drizzled w/ balsamic syrup.


Yum.

Here's how:

2 cups of fresh arugula, washed and dried
1 handful of fresh parlsey without stems (cilantro would be good too!)
1/4 cup of walnuts
sea salt & pepper
1 large garlic clove
1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1/4 cup or more of olive oil

In a food processor, whiz the greens with the other ingredients (except cheese and oil) until it forms a paste (hence the name "pesto").


Add in the cheese and olive oil last, and whiz another second or two to incorporate.
Stays in the fridge covered for a few days.

Enjoy!

Comments

Joanne said…
I've been eating tons of arugula lately also! Definitely need to turn some leftovers into pesto - yum!
Anonymous said…
Have you tried Trader Joe's Balsamic Glaze? I've received fancy brands of balsamic vinegar as gifts, but for every day, I'm happy with TJ's version - have been putting that SH*T on everything! Sorry, we're a big Frank's Hot Sauce house here - my sons go thru it at an alarming rate...
Ooh yumm! I'll be trying this this weekend.... (back to bad weather here, I'm in a soup mood)
Oui Chef said…
I'm with you, Stacy, arugula is the best green....period! This pesto makes such a great sandwich spread.
Ciao Chow Linda said…
I don't know why I've never made arugula pesto - I could eat the greens every day. But you've given me renewed inspiration, as usual, to try something new.
I'm with Linda I haven't made arugula pesto yet, but I will! I've been on a pesto kick lately and made a second batch of parsley walnut yesterday.
Anonymous said…
Love arugula as well, but never thought of making pesto out of it. Will definitely try. Thanks for the great idea.
Catherine said…
It makes a very good pesto. There is an Italian restaurant owner here who sells a range of products under his name and arugula pesto is one of them
A good sandwich is Portuguese or Spanish style chorizo sausage,(so not the mushy Mexican type) cut into pieces, cooked or grilled, and then served on a nice roll, with cooked peppers and arugula. Brindisa in London's Borough Market serves this outside their shop and it has people lining up to get one. I like using the peppadew peppers.
Jen R. said…
Made this last night, and served it on rotini pasta! The perfect vegetarian meal.
Thanks for the recipe.