I remember tasting arugula pesto for the first time about ten years ago in a small restaurant near here and I remember being peasantly surprised. Since then, I made it several times at home, sometimes trying to vary the ingredients a bit, using walnuts, pinenuts, parmesan or other grated cheeses, dairy or non-dairy cream, but my favourite arugula pesto remains the one I tried first, with almonds and pecorino cheese. Even if this sauce nowadays has become even too trendy, at least in Italy, I can’t help liking it a lot, not only because it is good, but also because it’s extremely quick to make, though quite healthy, if not exactly light. While pasta cooks, you have all the time you need to prepare your sauce, to dress your table, and maybe to put dirty clothes in the washing machine, as well.
Ingredients:
50 g (2 oz) arugula
50 g (2 oz) shelled almonds
40 g (1 1/2 oz) grated pecorino cheese
60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
40 ml (3 tbsp) extravirgin olive oil
a pinch of salt
Directions:
- You can decide whether you want to remove almonds skin or not. In the first case, you will benefit from the healty fiber it contains, if, on the contrary, you prefer a smoother texture of your sauce, then skin almonds, after putting them in boiling water for no more than a minute and rinsing them with cold water.
- Then combine arugula, grated pecorino, almonds, extravirgin olive oil in a food processor and blend, adding milk gradually until smooth.
This pesto is good with alla kinds of pasta, rice and other cereals and you can adjust the quantities as you like. If you prefer a milder taste, you can reduce the quantity of arugula and increase that of almonds and milk or viceversa, if you want a sharper sauce. The bitterness of arugula, though, depends not only on its quantity, but also on its quality and on the season it grows. As far as I know, for instance, it should be a bit sweeter in spring than in full summer.
I would be glad to read your comments, your opinions, your questions, your suggestions or anythindg you’d like to share and see you soon for another recipe.
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