Easy Arugula Pesto Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is arugula pesto made of? ›

Arugula pesto made with fresh arugula leaves, garlic, olive oil, walnuts, and Parmesan cheese.

Add a pinch of salt if the basil tastes too bitter or the pesto needs more zing. Add more Parmesan if you'd like a creamier/cheesier pesto. If desired, you can thin out the pesto with more olive oil.

Arugula, if you're not familiar with it (and, we can discuss why on earth you've allowed that to happen, at length, over a glass of Chardonnay sometime) is a bit bitter and very peppery. It's great in a salad, but it's distinctive flavor works so well in so many dishes.

Anything sugary will work: granulated white sugar, honey, fruit juices, even sweet dessert wines. Acid in the form of vinegar or citrus juices can make a pesto taste less bitter and could even enhance the flavour of the sauce at the same time.

Arugula's popularity has as much to do with its health benefits as its taste. One study cites arugula as being particularly high in cancer-fighting agents. This delicious green is a nutrient-dense food that is high in fiber and phytochemicals. Arugula is low in sugar, calories, carbohydrates, and fat.

Arugula pesto can be refrigerated in an airtight container (e.g., a mason jar) for 4 days or frozen in ice cube trays for up to 6 months. I normally add a drizzle a thin layer of olive oil on the top of the pesto before refrigerating or freezing it so it won't discolor as easily.

The most common reason for pesto tasting bitter is that the olive oil is past its best and has started to turn rancid. If the pesto has been made in a food processor or blender, there's also the possibility that it has turned bitter from the crude, sheering action of the blades.

The easiest way to thicken your pesto sauce is to add cornstarch. In a small bowl, start with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and add an equal amount of cold water or vegetable broth. Mix until it becomes a smooth paste; this is called a slurry. Whisk in a little at a time as in not to over thicken your pesto sauce.

Homemade basil pesto is a wonderfully versatile and tasty sauce/spread made from a handful of flavorful ingredients. It comes together in minutes and tastes worlds better than store-bought because it's so fresh.

To make arugula pesto less bitter, add basil to it. Basil is sweeter and softens up the spicy, bitter notes of arugula. We recommend using 1 part of arugula and 1 part of basil.

Does arugula have a weird taste? ›

Arugula Flavor

Unlike its mild salad green counterparts, arugula's flavor is described as peppery, spicy, and a bit nutty, which makes sense considering it's in the same family as mustard greens.

From arugula and kale to romaine and spinach, leafy greens tend to have the shortest shelf life of all vegetables. According to Spina, this comes down to age and bacteria. “Like many plants after harvest, salad greens start to decay,” Spina said. “When they get old, they release more moisture (water) and become slimy.”

The cause of pesto turning brown, or grey is usually because the herbs have started oxidising. The best way to slow that process is to reduce the amount of time the sauce is exposed to air.

The most important tip: Be generous with salt and basil!

These form the main pesto flavour so you don't want to scrimp on them - it will lead to a bland taste. If your pesto looks too dry, add more oil. You can also add more lemon juice if you want a stronger kick.

Pesto can be a bit on the chunky side, or almost like a uniform green paste. It really comes down to personal preferences or what you're using it for, but smoother pesto yields a better flavour and greener colour throughout whatever you toss it through.

What Is Arugula? Arugula, also known as Eruca vesicaria, is a cruciferous vegetable, a cousin of broccoli, kale, and cabbage. The leaves have a peppery, spicy flavor that grows more bitter with age. You can also eat the seeds whole or pressed in an oil.

Fresh arugula leaves have a distinctive spicy kick that will turn up the flavors in your salads, pastas, sandwiches, and sauces. The flavor can be bright, tart, peppery, and slightly bitter, depending on its maturity. You'll find that baby arugula is delicate and mild, while mature arugula is much spicier.

Spinach leaves are heavier, thicker, and more dense than arugula leaves. They are also darker in color. For the same weight (100 grams in the table below), spinach fills less volume; 3.5 cups vs 5 cups for arugula.

Pesto, or pesto alla genovese, is a basil-based sauce that originated in Genoa, the capital of Liguria, Italy. Traditional pesto is made with basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, salt, and Parmesan (or another type of hard Italian cheese, such as Pecorino).