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You’re probably wondering why arugula pesto and not traditional basil pesto….

I’ll be the first to admit I’m still a bit of a novice gardener.  I started messing around with seeds and dirt about 3 years ago when we moved into this house we’re renting.  With a few dollars worth of seeds and the crappy soil in the backyard we got some vegetables growing.  I wrote about it a while back in this post Gardening for cheapskates.  My favorite book to get started gardening by far is this one. I still reference it daily.

The thing with gardening as a newbie is that some things do really well with minimal effort or experience (like leafy greens!) and others I still can’t grow successfully to save my life (like cauliflower).

Arugula is one of those that I couldn’t kill if I tried!  Of course, I probably should have staggered planting it so it didn’t come in all at once but live and learn.

What do you do when you have tons of arugula to harvest at once?  You make pesto of course!  Traditionally pesto is made with basil (which, incidentally is another plant I have trouble growing past a little tiny sprig) but arugula pesto is also absolutely delicious.

If you haven’t had arugula before, be forewarned, it’s definitely “spicier” than a sweet basil leaf but I absolutely love it.  This arugula pesto recipe has just a few ingredients and is super quick to whip up.

Healthy Arugula Pesto

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups packed arugula leaves
• 2/3 Cup EVOO (where to buy extra virgin olive oil)
• 1/2 cup pecans (or pine nuts for a more traditional pesto) (where to buy pecans)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt (where to buy quality sea salt)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor.
2. Mix well and enjoy!

Yep, it’s that simple!  I love to spread it over baked chicken thighs or really any protein we’re having for dinner to make it a little more interesting.  It should keep well in the fridge for a week or so.

What is your favorite spread or condiment to use?