Arugula Pesto Con Noci

"I am addicted to young arugula (or rocket, as we call it). At the moment I have a glut in my garden. This is my favourite arugula pesto, changed and tweaked by me, and will probably be tweaked again ... Please read the extra notes at the bottom of recipe. Delicious forked into hot, drained spaghetti."
 
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photo by Zurie photo by Zurie
photo by Zurie
photo by Debbwl photo by Debbwl
photo by Debbwl photo by Debbwl
photo by Rita1652 photo by Rita1652
photo by Zurie photo by Zurie
Ready In:
15mins
Ingredients:
9
Yields:
2 cups
Serves:
4-6
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ingredients

  • 3 cups arugula, young, rinsed clean, and chopped up roughly
  • 4 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
  • 3 ounces walnuts
  • 2 ounces parmesan cheese, coarsely grated OR
  • 2 ounces pecorino cheese, coarsely chopped
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil, preferably extra-virgin
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 12 teaspoon salt (pref. flaky sea salt)
  • 12 teaspoon black pepper, coarsely ground
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directions

  • To measure, push the roughly chopped arugula into your measuring cup -- not too hard, but don't measure loosely.
  • Put this in your processor.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients, and whizz.
  • I prefer a pesto which is not too smooth, but slightly "granular" still.
  • NOTES: If you're using ready-washed arugula and parsley which are dry, you might want to add a tiny bit more oil. Mine usually has water on the leaves, which adds to the liquid available.
  • You can toast the walnuts lightly. I prefer walnuts because they contain more oil than other nuts.
  • The arugula should definitely be young -- the moment they start going to seed the leaves become very bitter.
  • The pesto should stand, covered, in the fridge for a few hours or more, as the flavours then meld better. Delicious forked into hot al dente spaghetti, with extra, fresh parmesan shavings on top. Can be dropped into a mixed greens salad by teaspoonsful.
  • I eat this on hot toast as well. (Ah well, takes all kinds to make a world -- !).

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Reviews

  1. This is the first time I made pesto without garlic and I must say it was really really good. Will definitely make this again. Thank you.
     
  2. I love arugula, DH doesn't, so I made a small batch, delish!!!! I used as a sauce for farfelle pasta. Made for ZWT7 Shady Ladies.
     
  3. Wow what a nice change of pace this pesto is! The arugula gives this pesto a nice vibrant color and the toasting the walnuts is a must as they bring as much to this tasty pesto as the arugula does. Another Big plus to this pesto is the health befits of arugula. Served as a snack on toasted bagel slices and am looking forward to serving on pasta as well as other dishes that call for pesto. This is a must keep recipe that I will be using often. Thanks so much for the post.
     
  4. This made a great pasta sauce! We squeezed a little more lemon over it and topped it with some arugula at the table.
     
  5. Yummo! I made with half basil and half arugula. I must say I didn`t measure and it was delish! I have so much arugula in the garden this is a great way to use it! Thanks.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I'm a widow, retired, and I love cooking. I live on the coast in South Africa and I love seafood. You're welcome to my recipes (all kinds, definitely not just seafood!) Just remember that no recipe is ever cast in stone -- adjust to your taste! The photo was taken at a rustic seaside restaurant on our West Coast, approx 1 year ago (2016).
 
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