You better come on in my kitchen

As I mentioned in my last post, we've got a lot of greens coming up in the garden. Despite our best attempts to share with the neighbors, we can't eat enough salads to keep up. A year or so ago, while buying early spring greens at the farmer's market and craving summer herbs, I wondered if I couldn't make pesto with arugula. It's a strong flavor, albeit quite different from basil, so I gave it a whirl and thought it was pretty good. Definitely not the same thing, but a nice spring-y flavor and something different to do with greens. With our inundation of arugula these past few weeks, it seemed incumbent on me to make something that would use up a significant amount so, time for pesto! I realize arugula is not so plentiful for everyone and it might seem crazy to do this, when you could have a delicious salad or put it in some other dish. I don't disagree, but if you're looking for something new. . . here ya go:


Arugula Pesto
(all measures approximate - I would start here and tweak as you desire)
2 cups arugula, washed and dried
2 cloves garlic, chunked (I find it helps to pre-chop this a bit, to avoid garlic clumps in your final product)
1/4 cup olive oil (the only measure I tend to stick to religiously, but I don't like my pesto too oily)
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts (you could use any nut here, although I don't know how delicious pesto-traditional pine nuts would be with arugula - might be too bitter)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (I always use more - probably more like 1/2 cup at least)
salt and pepper to taste
Your favorite pasta


Toast nuts in 375° oven for 15 minutes (be vigilant, so they don't burn). While the nuts are toasting, blend arugula and garlic in a food processor until combined (admire the beautiful, rich green color!).

Add nuts and blend until incorporated.

Drizzle in oil while processor is running. Add cheese (I usually grate this in, rather than adding chunks, but I leave the method to your discretion), salt, and pepper and blend. Taste and add more ingredients as needed (if it is too bitter, which is always the case for me at this point, I find adding cheese and salt to be the most helpful).

Put on top of your favorite pasta and eat (I usually like to top it with a little more grated parmesan).

A few additional notes:

• the measures are just jumping off points - everyone has their own tastes and pesto is one of those dishes that lends itself especially to adjusting and improvising as needed,
• make sure the arugula tastes good (this is is NOT a recipe for older, bitter/super spicy arugula - you're eating a concentrated, larger amount than you normally would in another dish),
• I've always thought that this would be super delicious with fresh tomatoes, but tomato and arugula season have never matched up for me; if you have some, I would definitely add a few and see what you think,
• don't expect this to taste at all like basil pesto - it's not meant to be a substitute, but really an entirely different dish.