Tasty, peppery arugula, fresh off the farm!
Arugula is peppery, and with raw garlic this makes for a full-flavored, intense sauce that works great on noodles or to spice up a sandwich.
3 cups packed fresh arugula leaves
1/2 cup mild olive oil
1/2 cup raw almonds
4 cloves garlic, peeled
Salt to taste
Toss the arugula into a small pot of boiling water and stir. Cook for ONLY 20 seconds, fish out with a strainer and quickly plunge into ice water. Let sit for a minute, drain, and remove the arugula from the water. Squeeze out the remaining water with your hands. Put the oil, almonds and garlic in a blender with the arugula. Pulse on and off, scraping down the sides of the blender in between blending until a coarse pesto is formed.This should only take a minute. Do not over-mix or the olive oil may turn too bitter. Transfer to a bowl and season with salt to taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate until needed. Will keep several days. Blanching the arugula leaves will keep this pesto a nice green color.