Today, arugula pesto.
I made big purchases: I bought a little crate of arugula.
It seemed like a lot, yes, but I didn’t quite understand “how much” until I opened it: I found myself with such a quantity of arugula (which is delicious, flavorful, and a bit spicy) that I had to seek out recipes to use it up without falling into monotony.
Despite the fact that adding lots of arugula to salad, pizza, and flatbread already gives me a certain level of satisfaction, both taste-wise and mentally 😀 (taste-wise! 😆)
But come on, is it obvious how much I like arugula?
Personal tastes aside, here is the second in a series of arugula recipes, perhaps the most obvious one: pesto. (The first recipe in the series is yesterday’s, take a look! 😉).
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Here, I’ll leave you with some other ‘alternative pestos’, try them!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 cups arugula
- 1.75 oz Parmesan cheese
- 1 clove garlic (or half a shallot for a milder taste)
- 1.75 oz cream cheese
- 1 oz almonds (or a mix of almonds, walnuts, and pine nuts)
- extra virgin olive oil
- pepper (or chili pepper)
Tools
- Food Chopper
Steps
Wash the arugula and place it in the blender cup with the garlic clove and almonds.
Blend.
Add some olive oil and the Parmesan cut into small pieces and blend again until you get a fine texture.
Adjust the amount of oil to your taste, you can also add a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water, which will make the pesto softer and allow you to reduce the oil content.
Finally, add the cream cheese and blend briefly to mix it in.
And the arugula pesto is ready.
Serve with pasta, adding freshly ground pepper or chili pepper.
Possible variations:
This arugula pesto lends itself to various possible modifications. The ones I would suggest are:
– use only almonds, or only walnuts or only pine nuts (I prefer the mix, or only almonds)
– add a few basil leaves, if you don’t want to miss out on the scent of traditional pesto
– Use homemade cream cheese, or homemade fresh cheese or homemade ricotta (recommended, especially for those who need a low-sodium diet).
Here is the photo of the version with walnuts and pine nuts, and with yogurt and ricotta (so with many variations! 😀), which I prepared to dress the gratinated rice of this recipe.
I look forward to sharing more arugula recipes that I’m experimenting with in the upcoming days… in the time left between music competitions, confirmations, and various family communions!
In case I delay a few days, I’m sure you’ll understand! 🙂
See you soon!
UPDATE:
And here is the photo of the latest version in order of time.
Today I used walnuts, pine nuts, and almonds, a little basil and parsley, a tiny bit of ricotta, and lots of arugula, and the result is a bright green pesto. 🙂
Salt-free Tips
I remind you that I cook without added salt 😉 If you want to know more, read this article and join my group!
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Gradually reduce salt, the palate must get used to it slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granules
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid putting the salt shaker on the table!
▫ Occasionally indulge in breaking the rule. It is good for the mood and helps perseverance.
If you do not want or cannot give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes, salting according to your habits.
Follow me!
on my Facebook page, on my Pinterest boards, in my two groups: Catia’s group, in the kitchen and beyond and Just what I was looking for! and if you feel like it… subscribe to my Newsletter
on my Facebook page, on my Pinterest boards, in my two groups: Catia’s group, in the kitchen and beyond and Just what I was looking for! and if you feel like it… subscribe to my Newsletter
