Arugula Pesto

By Martha Rose Shulman

Arugula Pesto
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
5(1,184)
Comments
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To most people, pesto means one thing: pesto Genovese, the famous and fabulous basil paste from the Italian Riviera. But there are sauces made with copious amounts of other herbs or greens not destined for pasta. They aren’t called pestos, yet that’s what they are — all made by grinding herbs and other ingredients to a paste, then thinning out and enriching with oil. This dish is inspired by one found in southern Italy. This sauce, like other forms of pesto, is all pungent with garlic. In addition to serving this vibrant pesto with pasta, it can be used with grains — risottos made with rice, barley, or wheat — and as a topping for tomatoes. It’s great on its own, spooned onto a thick slice of country bread. Don’t use a sharp olive oil with this, or it will overwhelm the arugula.

Featured in: Pestos: Not Just for Pasta

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Ingredients

Yield:Makes about ⅔ cup

    For the Arugula Pesto

    • 2garlic cloves, cut in half, green shoots removed
    • 2heaped tablespoons shelled walnuts
    • 4ounces arugula, stemmed, washed and dried 2 cups leaves, tightly packed
    • ½teaspoon salt
    • ⅓ to ½cup extra virgin olive oil, as needed
    • ⅓ to ½cup freshly grated Parmesan, to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1.3333333333333333 servings)

878 calories; 87 grams fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 54 grams monounsaturated fat; 13 grams polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 574 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. For the Arugula Pesto

    1. Step 1

      Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and drop in the garlic cloves. When they are chopped and adhering to the sides, stop the machine, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the walnuts. Turn on the machine, and process until they are finely ground. Scrape down the bowl again, and add the arugula and the salt. Pulse until the arugula is finely chopped, then turn on the machine and run while you slowly drizzle in the olive oil. When the mixture is smooth, stop the machine, scrape down the sides and process for another 30 seconds or so. Scrape out into the bowl of a mortar and pestle. Grind the mixture with the pestle for a smoother texture. Work in the cheese and combine well.

Tip
  • Advance preparation: Cover the top with a film of olive oil, and this will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days.Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,184 user ratings
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Comments

M

To cut the bitterness, I added the juice of half a lemon, and the zest of 1 lemon. Super successful!

joan

this will be even better if you toast the walnuts in the oven (300degrees) until they start to smell fragrant (check after about 10 minutes).

Emily

I've been making this a lot lately. I've been on a big parsley kick, so I make it with half parsley, half arugula--softening the potentially overpowering bitterness of the arugula. Otherwise I make it as is (minus the cheese, because I'm cheese-free), and find it super easy and super tasty.

Jisun

Can you freeze this?

Marian

Made 1/2 recipe of this today using all ingredients (no substitutions), and toasted the walnuts as suggested by another reader. Used a stick blender for mixing everything, starting with the garlic, nuts, and two tablespoons olive oil. Roughly chopped the arugula to make it smaller, stuffed it into the mix and used another tablespoon of olive oil on top of it to finish the blending. Stirred in the grated Parmesan with a spoon. Used about 3+ tbsp mixed into 100g Capellini. Truly excellent recipe!

CL

Mine was VERY bitter, but when I mixed some of the pesto (to taste) with ricotta, it was delicious on pasta.

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