Turn an abundance of arugula and some walnuts into amazing pesto.
Have an abundance of arugula?
A great way to use it up is by making an arugula pesto.
Elise Bauer
(Hence our need to make pesto.)
I tried making it with both walnuts and pine nuts and strongly prefer this pesto with walnuts.
I’ve made pesto both with mortar and pestle and with a food processor.
The food processor method is definitely easier but the mortar method produces larger pieces of the arugula.
I prefer a mild garlic flavor that you might achieve by using roasted garlic.
The 1/2 raw garlic clove is added for a little kicker.
Using roasted garlic is a great way to still have the garlic flavor but without the intensity.
Remove the garlic from the pan, cool, and remove the skins.
In our microwave it takes 2 minutes.
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.
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.
Serve with pasta, over freshlyroasted potatoes, or as a sauce forpizza.
