Rocket pesto made with fresh rocket leaves, garlic, olive oil, walnuts and Parmesan cheese.
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Do you have a lot of arugula? A great way to use it up is to make an arugula pesto.
For this pesto, I used ripe arugula from our garden (you could use baby arugula, it just isn’t as strong).
I’ve tried making it with both walnuts and pine nuts and prefer this pesto with walnuts. The strong, meaty flavor of the walnuts balances the astringency of the arugula, a good blend of flavors.
I’ve made pesto with both a mortar and pestle and a food processor. The food processor method is definitely easier, but the mortar method produces larger chunks of arugula.
CONTINUE READING:
I prefer a mild garlic flavor, which you can achieve by using roasted garlic. The 1/2 clove of raw garlic is added for a little kick. The first time I made this pesto it was just raw garlic and it was a little overwhelmingly garlicky. Using roasted garlic is a great way to get the garlic flavor but without the intensity.
Rocket pesto
ingredients
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2 cups packed arugula Leaves, stems removed
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1/2 Cup shelled walnuts
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1/2 Cup fresh parmesan cheese
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1/2 Cup Extra virgin olive oil
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6 cloves garlicunpeeled
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1/2 clove garlicpeeled and chopped
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1/2 teaspoon Salt
special equipment
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Food processor or mortar and pestle
method
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Fry garlic:
Sauté 6 cloves of garlic in a skillet over medium-high heat, until garlic is lightly browned in spots, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan, let cool and remove the skin.
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Roast nuts:
Toast the nuts in a skillet over medium-high heat until lightly browned, or microwave over high heat for a minute or two until you get that roasted flavor. It takes 2 minutes in our microwave.
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3a process in the food processor:
(the quick way) Combine arugula, salt, walnuts, roasted and raw garlic in a food processor. Pulse as you drizzle the olive oil into the processor. Remove the mixture from the processor and place in a bowl. Stir in the parmesan cheese.
3b Use mortar and pestleMix nuts, salt and garlic in a mortar. Mix smooth with the pestle. Add the cheese and olive oil, stir again until smooth. Finely chop the arugula and place in the mortar. Blend with the other ingredients until smooth.
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Adjust to taste:
Because the pesto is so dependent on the individual ingredients, and the strength of the ingredients depends on the season or variety, test it out and add other ingredients as you like.
Serve with pasta, over freshly roasted potatoes or as a sauce for pizza.
Links:
mortar and pestle
Pesto de Roquette et Pesto Rouge by Clotilde of chocolate and zucchini
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 304 | calories |
| 31g | Fat |
| 4g | carbohydrates |
| 4g | protein |
