Today I prepared this tomato and arugula pesto because in this beautiful, sunny day, more summery than the “real” summer days we’ve had this year, a plate of pasta dressed with a fresh pesto is just the right dish for us who need so much sun (even on the plate). 😊

I’ll get straight to the recipe because today we want to eat early and spend a couple of hours at the beach. It’s wonderful to take advantage of this beautiful sunny day!

👇 I also have several variations to propose to you, following this original tomato pesto. If you’d like to take a look, I’ll add them here: 👇

Difficulty: Very Easy
Cost: Economical
Preparation time: 5 Minutes
Portions: 3
Cooking methods: No Cooking
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Summer

Ingredients

5 ripe tomatoes (about 12 oz)
5 walnuts
arugula (a handful)
5 black olives
1 clove garlic
1.5 oz caciocavallo cheese (aged)
extra virgin olive oil
pepper (or chili pepper)

Tools

Nutcracker
Chopper

Steps

Shell the walnuts, wash and chop the tomatoes, wash and dry the arugula, peel the garlic, and remove the central part. Put everything in the blender cup and blend.
Add olive oil to taste and season with pepper or chili pepper.
A sprinkle of grated cheese directly on the plates adds flavor and taste, but this tomato pesto is also great in its vegan version, without cheese 😊
With this quick tomato and arugula pesto, you can dress pasta as we will do shortly, but if you want, you can “spread it” on slices of toasted bread or bruschetta, we love it that way too!

No Salt Tips

No Salt If you’ve never tried not adding salt… come on, give it a try! Season with one more clove of garlic and a good dose of chili pepper, and then let me know what you think. 😉

If you’re interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
■ Gradually reduce salt, the palate needs to get used to it slowly and shouldn’t notice the gradual reduction.
■ Use spices. Chili pepper, 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 fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
■ Use my vegetable granulate without salt
■ Prefer fresh foods.
■ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that retain flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
■ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
■ Occasionally allow yourself a treat. It’s good for the mood and helps to persevere.

If you don’t want or cannot give up salt:
■ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.