Arugula Pesto

I’m sure you have seen the zillions of types of pesto out there in recipe-land. I am pretty loyal to basil and pine nuts, but since pine nuts are so darn expensive and my basil is not ready to be harvested, I decided to be brave and try an arugula pesto with walnuts…. It’s a combination of all kinds of recipes; I think I even threw in some almonds from the back of the fridge…..Surprisingly, it was awesome! I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I really like this! Yes, it’s ‘spicy’ and ‘bitter’ like arugula, but that gave it a very pleasant taste. Plus, once you add nuts, garlic, butter, oil, cheese and pasta, who cares what the green part is??? !

Be brave like me. Try a new type of pesto.

Here’s what you do:

Harvest a bunch of arugula from your garden, making sure the resident bunny is not busy eating your green beans.

Place the tender leaves in a Cuisinart along with some garlic, nuts, oil, salt and blend away! At this point, I freeze my pesto in ice-cube trays or baggies and tuck them away in the freezer.

 When I’m ready to use it, I add lots of pasta water, fresh Parmesan cheese and a tiny bit of butter. The classic way to use pesto is on pasta, of course. But don’t forget about using it on a pizza or sandwich.