The arugula and almond pesto is a delicious, fresh, and light condiment and an excellent alternative to the classic basil and pine nut-based Genoese pesto. For this recipe, I used pre-washed and cleaned arugula, blanched almonds, Grana Padano PDO, Pecorino Romano, and lots of extra-virgin olive oil. You can use it to dress pasta, enrich main dishes, or spread on bruschetta.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2 People
- Cooking methods: No Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
Ingredients
- 1.75 oz arugula
- 1 oz blanched almonds
- 0.35 oz Pecorino Romano
- 0.35 oz Grana Padano PDO
- 8 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic (optional)
- to taste fine salt
- to taste black pepper
Tools
- Kitchen Scale
- Chopper
- Spoon
- Spatula
- Jar
Preparation
To prepare the arugula and almond pesto…
For the recipe, I used pre-washed, ready-to-use arugula from a bag, already cleaned from damaged leaves. If you prefer, you can also use fresh arugula, just picked, wash it under running water, and dry it well with a towel.
Place the arugula in the chopper, add the almonds, Grana Padano, Pecorino Romano, extra-virgin olive oil, and black pepper.
Pulse the chopper intermittently until everything is finely chopped. Taste to check for seasoning and consistency, adding salt and oil if necessary.
The arugula and almond pesto is ready to dress your pasta.
Storage
The pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for 2/3 days in an airtight container or a bowl wrapped in plastic wrap.
