This past week I had my family in town which calls for lots of time spent exploring and lots of food in my refrigerator (both of these things I have no problem with whatsoever). When it came to this weekend after everybody left though, I found myself with tons of leftovers in the fridge. As to not waste any food, I restricted myself to only eating leftovers until I go grocery shopping again. This plan led me with the realization that I would have to eat a ridiculous amount of salad and greens in a short amount of time to succeed. So to not waste anything, I saw this arugula and knew exactly what to make with it: pesto!
I have made this arugula pesto in the past due to a similar issue. A year or so ago I was house sitting for someone who had a garden and to thank me for the help I received a large bundle of arugula as payment. I was so excited until I realized that eating excess amounts of arugula is not a simple task. So once again I came to the conclusion to make pesto!
It turns out that arugula pesto just might be better than basil pesto….
The pepperyness to the arugula really comes through and tastes good on pretty much anything (i.e., crostini with pesto and prosciutto), not just pasta. Also you probably have everything you need to make it already on hand!
This pesto takes minutes to make and substituting walnuts for pine nuts make it a more affordable dish!
Ingredients
- 2 cups arugula
- ½ cup walnuts, toasted
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves, garlic
- the juice of ½ a lemon
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is mostly fine.*
- *If you don't have a food processor you can use a magic bullet or other smaller processor and work in batches to make the pesto.
