ARUGULA PESTO easy and quick recipe.
The advantage of making sauces at home not only allows us to save money but also lets us eat healthily, without preservatives and/or colorants, and with high-quality ingredients. We have already seen how to make the well-known GENOVESE BASIL PESTO (if you want my recipe for making it perfectly click HERE), appreciated worldwide, while its arugula-based version is less famous.
A delicate yet bold and flavorful dressing that is prepared quickly, perfect for seasoning pasta in summer or spreading on crostini. A mix of arugula, Parmesan, Pecorino, garlic, pine nuts, and extra-virgin olive oil.
You will enrich your dishes with a creamy-textured and uniquely flavored dressing, ideal also for adding a special touch to your fish and meat dishes. Perfect for dressing a pasta salad accompanied by fresh raw cherry tomatoes on a summer day, in fact, it is delicious even cold.
Follow me and I will explain how to prepare it in a few simple steps, also watch the VIDEO RECIPE below.
For pesto lovers, I also leave you these variations
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 260.17 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 1.88 (g) of which sugars 1.16 (g)
- Proteins 8.66 (g)
- Fat 25.10 (g) of which saturated 7.01 (g)of which unsaturated 4.42 (g)
- Fibers 0.43 (g)
- Sodium 800.91 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 50 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz arugula
- 2.5 oz grated Parmesan
- 1 oz Pecorino Romano
- 3 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- to taste salt
- 0.7 oz pine nuts (toasted)
Tools
- Immersion blender
Steps
First, wash the arugula thoroughly under water and then dry it. Transfer it to the mixer glass along with the Parmesan, Pecorino, pine nuts, garlic clove from which you have removed the inner part, and salt.
Add a small amount of extra-virgin olive oil and start blending at low speed. Gradually add the remaining olive oil slowly until you obtain a well-mixed and fluid cream. Your arugula pesto is ready!
NOTES
PINE NUTS: One of the variations involves using almonds or walnuts instead of pine nuts. In the latter case, before using them, blanch 1 oz of walnut kernels in boiling water for a couple of minutes, drain them, let them cool, and peel them before use.
GARLIC: An essential ingredient for purists of Genovese Basil Pesto that can be omitted in this arugula version due to the already slightly pungent taste of this type of salad.
EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: Since it’s a cold sauce, without cooking, in which the oil is one of the main ingredients, I recommend using good quality extra-virgin olive oil with a not too fruity taste.
HOW TO USE IT: Arugula pesto goes perfectly with any type of pasta such as fusilli or penne rigate. Try preparing a Pasta Salad by dressing it with Arugula Pesto and adding diced cherry tomatoes; it’s excellent both at room temperature and cold. But Arugula Pesto can also be an alternative to the usual spreads on crostini or in place of mayonnaise in sandwiches or wraps.
VARIATION: To make Arugula Pesto, which has a slightly pungent taste, more delicate, I suggest replacing part of the arugula with basil leaves. The perfect mix could be 70% arugula leaves and 30% basil leaves.
STORAGE
You can store arugula pesto in airtight jars for up to 3 days, with a layer of oil on top. If it seems thick upon use, add a few more drops of oil or some pasta cooking water. You can also freeze it in single-serving jars to use as needed.
