Name: Arugula Pesto
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups of packed arugula leaves, stems removed; 1/2 cup of shelled walnuts; 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese; 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil; 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled; 1/2 garlic clove peeled and minced; 1/2 teaspoon salt

Arugula Pesto

Arugula pesto with walnuts is a flavorful twist on the Italian sauce that's great with pasta or as a sauce for pizza. This quick and easy recipe comes together in minutes in a food processor or using a mortar and pestle.

35 min total 15 min prep 20 min cook 4 307 cal

Instructions

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1 Brown 6 garlic cloves with their peels on in a skillet over medium high heat until the garlic is lightly browned in places, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan, cool, and remove the skins.
2 Toast the nuts in a pan over medium heat until lightly brown, or heat in a microwave on high heat for a minute or two until you get that roasted flavor. In our microwave it takes 2 minutes.
3 (the fast way) Combine the arugula, salt, walnuts, roasted and raw garlic into a food processor. Pulse while drizzling the olive oil into the processor. Remove the mixture from the processor and put it into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. OR use a mortar and pestle: Combine the nuts, salt and garlic in a mortar. With the pestle, grind until smooth. Add the cheese and olive oil, grind again until smooth. Finely chop the arugula and add it to the mortar. Grind up with the other ingredients until smooth.
4 Because the pesto is so dependent on the individual ingredients, and the strength of the ingredients depends on the season or variety, test it and add more of the ingredients to taste. Serve with pasta, over freshly roasted potatoes , or as a sauce for pizza . Did you love the recipe? Give us some stars and leave a comment below!