Instant Love: Arugula Pesto

I might enjoy fall pesto variants even more than the traditional summer basil pesto. It'd be a hard choice. Maybe my love for a kale or arugula pesto is based in part on the fact that it reminds me of warmer days and sun and fresh tomatoes with pasta, all of which are sadly lacking as winter gets closer and closer. And, since I get home from work as the sun is setting, my internal clock says it's time for sleep and my cooking energies wane. Pestos add a snappy spruce to a quick weeknight meal, without much effort. Plus, added bonus, greens tend to be cheaper than basil, so you can get a lot more pesto for a lot less moolah.

Basically, all you need for a pesto is a nut, a green, some garlic, and some oil. A friend of mine even made one last week with green onions and almonds. As Roomie says, add a little garlic and some cheese, and you can make anything good, so pestos can be an easy way to add a little spinach or kale to your diet if you don't like the flavor too much. The process is simple: pulse some nuts, garlic cloves, and salt in a food processor until coarsely chopped, add your green of choice, and run your food processor while pouring in olive oil until your pesto is smooth. Stir in some parmesan if you'd like and you're ready to go. For heartier greens, like kale, you'll need to cook them first, but a fresh arugula or spinach can go straight into the mix.

For this batch, I used about a half a bag of baby arugula, a half cup of walnuts, 2-3 garlic cloves, and about a tablespoon of lemon juice (plus a lot of olive oil). Add the garlic cloves and lemon juice in intervals - you don't want them to overwhelm the flavor, and they can be easily added in later. Also, if fresh garlic flavor is too strong for your liking, hold the cloves in boiling water for about 30 seconds (e.g. water boiling for pasta) or pop them in the microwave for about 10 seconds - it'll cut the bite a bit. Slather the pesto on a tomato-mozzarella sandwich (like this one here), dollop on some hot pasta, or simply eat with some crusty bread.