Arugula Walnut Pesto

Confession: I’m a pesto fanatic, but I had never actually made my own until recently. I was intrigued by Barbara Kingsolver’s method of making pesto in bulk in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (which Lesley kindly shipped to me from Bordeaux!). However, my baby basil plant isn’t nearly big enough to produce mass quantities of pesto, so I was stumped.

Then I ran across arugula pesto. By now you all know I love arugula (see arugula pasta salad and arugula-topped deep dish pizza), and I thought it would be the perfect springtime green to incorporate in my pesto. I searched around until I found this recipe for arugula walnut pesto. The author, Elise of Simply Recipes, felt like walnuts complemented the arugula better than pine nuts, which was fine with me because walnuts are much less expensive!

I spent about thirty minutes on a lovely weekend night making this pesto, and froze the extra for later in an ice cube tray. Now any time I want pesto for pasta, pizza or toast, I just have to defrost some green cubes.

arugula walnut pesto with whole wheat linguine

Arugula Walnut Pesto
Print
Author: Cookie and Kate
Ingredients
  • 4 cups of packed arugula leaves, stems removed
  • 1 cup of shelled walnuts
  • 1 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 12 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 2 garlic clove peeled and minced (or a big tablespoon of minced garlic)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Cracked black pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 to 1 full lemon, squeezed
Instructions
  1. Over medium high heat, lightly brown the unpeeled garlic cloves, about ten minutes. Peel off the skins once they have cooled down.
  2. Over medium high heat, toast the walnuts until fragrant, about three to five minutes.
  3. In a food processor, combine the arugula, salt, walnuts and all the garlic.
  4. Pulse while drizzling in the olive oil.
  5. Remove the mixture from the processor and put it into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, freshly ground pepper and a big squeeze of lemon, to taste.
Notes
  • Adapted from Simply Recipes.
  • The lemon brightens up the flavor of the pesto and is, in my opinion, essential to the recipe.
  • This recipe yields enough pesto to toss with pasta for 6 to 8 people. Feel free to double the recipe if you really want to make it in bulk. I live alone so this is plenty of pesto for me!

arugula walnut pesto in ice cube tray

Note on freezing pesto: Some instructions on freezing pesto suggest that you leave out the parmesan altogether, and add fresh parmesan to your pasta when you’re ready to eat it. I haven’t had any problems with my frozen pesto, which includes the parmesan, but I thought I’d throw the suggestion out there.

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24 Comments

  1. Posted May 19, 2011 at 1:43 PM | Permalink

    I LOVE PESTO!!! I always choose pesto pasta when I’m out at Italian restaurants. Your homemade pesto looks a thousand times better. Good job! :)

    <3 Belly B

  2. Posted May 19, 2011 at 4:33 PM | Permalink

    Looks pungent and delicious! I use walnuts in my pesto too since they’re so much cheaper than pine nuts here – actually they’re free since we have access to some walnut trees in the Dordogne.

    I’m glad the book has provided you with inspiration. (But to be honest, although I like Barbara Kingsolver’s fiction, I thought she came over a little preachy in this book.)

    • Posted May 19, 2011 at 7:54 PM | Permalink

      I haven’t read Barbara Kingsolver’s fiction, but I’ve heard good reviews of The Poisonwood Bible. I enjoyed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, but there were certainly moments when I felt like she was being too condescending. My favorite food writer is still Michael Pollan—he manages to present a more well-rounded view, I think.

      • Jes
        Posted May 24, 2011 at 11:02 AM | Permalink

        I agree about Pollan, he’s changing my life with every chapter. I keep planting things after listening to his book. I want to get a goat or some chickens so bad (but Marshall isn’t so into that idea).

  3. Camille
    Posted May 19, 2011 at 4:48 PM | Permalink

    Can you please make this for me when Ruby is born since I will have no time to cook? I’m trying to make yummy meals and freeze them before she’s born!

    • Posted May 19, 2011 at 7:52 PM | Permalink

      Yeah! Pesto will be just one of my baby gifts. :)

  4. Posted May 19, 2011 at 7:14 PM | Permalink

    Lovely recipe! I will certainly be trying it. And good idea on putting it in ice cube trays! I could never eat all that pesto up before it went bad!!

  5. Posted May 19, 2011 at 11:10 PM | Permalink

    yay a great idea to put my arugula plant to good use! ive only ever tried the classic version using basil! oh and the freezing idea is genius…because on a working day, i can be too lazy to take out my food processor and then washing it afterwards lol.

  6. Posted May 20, 2011 at 12:03 AM | Permalink

    Mmmm… I love the spicy, slightly bitter taste of arugula pesto. It’s wonderful. Pesto is also great with kale or chard as well, if you’re interested in trying something really different!

  7. Posted May 20, 2011 at 12:17 PM | Permalink

    This looks absolutely fantastic! I love pesto!

  8. yak
    Posted May 21, 2011 at 9:09 AM | Permalink

    making this pronto. ps new fav blog beyond all belief. already got 3 other friends hooked too =)

    • Posted May 21, 2011 at 9:57 AM | Permalink

      You just made my morning. Thank you for visiting! :-)

  9. Posted May 23, 2011 at 12:47 AM | Permalink

    thank you for schooling me in pasta + pesto! you simply rock :)

  10. Posted May 23, 2011 at 2:56 AM | Permalink

    ah, that looks so good. i love arugula too! can’t wait to try this asap!

  11. Posted May 24, 2011 at 2:22 PM | Permalink

    Mmm mm Mmm! This looks so good! I’ve been too busy to read my favorite blogs lately, glad to finally have some reprieve. I would love trying this pesto with some spiralized zucchini noodles as a cold dish.

    • Posted May 24, 2011 at 9:56 PM | Permalink

      Oo, that would be good. I’m going to make a whole wheat pizza with this pesto and tomatoes from the farmer’s market soon. Craving it already!

  12. Posted May 24, 2011 at 2:24 PM | Permalink

    P.s – Barbara Kingsolver is my favorite author. Seriously though.

  13. Posted May 27, 2011 at 1:29 PM | Permalink

    I’m a pesto fanatic too though I’ve never ventured to make it with arugula. Great idea to freeze it in cubes too! These pictures are some of your best yet, especially the one of the garlic, wow!

    • Posted May 28, 2011 at 1:03 PM | Permalink

      Thanks, Heather! I was feeling inspired that day. :)

  14. Posted June 7, 2011 at 6:00 PM | Permalink

    Tried this one last night, v. tasty (with pasta, on crackers and straight off the spoon!) and have tried putting the leftovers in ice cube trays as suggested.
    I had to google what Arugula was though – but it turns out it is what we call ‘rocket’ in Australia which I use reguarly in salads.
    (I am also very impressed with your Headings with the photos on your Recipe page, I think I will have to improve my own after seeing yours!)

  15. Posted June 11, 2011 at 11:39 PM | Permalink

    b-e-a-u-tiful blog! you’ve got quite the eye for photography, girl. love the recipes, too :)

  16. Posted August 2, 2011 at 11:47 PM | Permalink

    kate! so yummy! I made a kale pesto for the book and I am obsessed, this looks great too.

    • Posted August 3, 2011 at 6:34 AM | Permalink

      Kale pesto sounds incredible! I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of your book. Best of luck completing your manuscript!

4 Trackbacks

  1. By Pesto-palooza! Ten Ways to Eat Pesto | Cookie and Kate on September 15, 2011 at 2:13 PM

    [...] froze the pesto in ice cube trays for later, just like I did with the arugula pesto, and I’ve been putting pesto on practically everything since. I’ve found that adding [...]

  2. [...] via: RealSimple |  The Idea Room  |  Cookie+Cate | Life Hackery |Uncommon Goods: Cooks | Mommy in Charge | Posted by GKelly in Fun, Kitchen Tricks | [...]

  3. [...] nuts and garlic (a little toasting always helps, in my opinion, and it’s proven true in my arugula pesto recipe and basil pesto recipe). I used roasted red peppers from a jar. Although I’m sure freshly [...]

  4. [...] I don’t have a pizza stone, so Matt and I decided to bake the pizza in my 12-inch cast iron pan instead. We stayed true to Secret Stash’s original recipe and used my leftover basil pesto instead of red sauce. If you want to double up on the arugula, you could also try it with my arugula pesto. [...]

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