Sunday Savory: Arugula Pesto

Guest post by Shelby Smith

   Arugula is fresh green that can continue to grow into the month of December here in the Mid-Atlantic. It will continue growing in your garden until a really bad frost. Try making pesto with Arugula rather than Basil. It is fresh, creamy, and has a subtle peppery flavor. 

Ingredients

• A hand full of fresh Arugula, rinsed.
• 4-6 tbsp. of olive oil.
• 3 cloves of garlic.
• 2 tbsp. of Parmesan cheese.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions

1. In a food processor or blender blend the arugula, garlic, and cheese.
2. Slowly drizzle in the oil as the blend is running until pesto is smooth and garlic is minced.
3. Add salt and pepper for taste.

Traditional pesto has toasted pine nuts added to it and you can add that to this pesto with you would like a nutty and toasted flavor. You can serve this over any type of pasta, drizzle it over a tomato and mozzarella salad, or spread it on a pizza. If any leftover, you can store this in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

"Savory Sunday" is a new weekly blog series with seasonal recipes from the garden.

About the Author:

Shelby Smith is a senior double major in multi-platform journalism and film studies at the University of Maryland College Park. She was a sports copy-editor for a campus publication called Unwind Magazine and a writer at The Campus Current newspaper at Anne Arundel Community College.