Arugula Pesto

Pesto is really a delicious way to enjoy many herbs and greens. The traditional basil is always a show stoper, but I recently had a delicious spinach pesto pasta salad that was a knockout and gave me the idea to try it with arugula. Arugula seems to be at every stand at the markets right now- and sometimes I am at my wits end trying to find different ways to prepare it. The first go-around I treated it like a regular pesto and added lots of garlic, which in combination with the naturally peppery flavor of arugula made it an overkill of that sharp spicy flavor. Second time around it had just the right kick for me.

Ingredients

1- 2 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of arugula

¼ cup walnuts

extra virgin olive oil

a pinch of salt

a handful of grated good parmesan cheese

This recipe could not be simpler. Add all ingredients into a food processor and chop. Add oil along the way until you get the desired smooth texture of pesto. You may need extra salt to taste depending on how bitter the arugula you are using is.

We ate this pesto with pasta but also used it to spice up brunch by serving it on toast topped with an egg.
Tip: you can always make pesto when herbs are fresh and freeze it in individual serving sizes in ice cube trays in the freezer. It works great added to soups to give them a fresh taste, or as a marinade for meats and