Yesterday, I mentioned that I had arugula left over from the first CSA. Well, it’s not left over any more. In fact, we ate it last night as pesto on orzo pasta with local tomatoes and sauteed chicken breast. It tasted fresh and summery, and on our lunchtime picnic today, after picking strawberries at Amrbose Farm, it became ideal picnic food and the topic of conversation.
Arugula and Spinach Pesto
Equal sized bunches of Arugula and Spinach (really any greens would work)
Olive oil
Garlic
Basil (fresh would be best)
Orzo pasta (or really any pasta will do fine)
Tomatoes, chopped (but red or yellow peppers or any veggie would work as well)
Parmesan cheese
In a large pot of boiling water, blanch the arugula and spinach until it is bright green (super quick, just 10 seconds). With a slotted spoon move the greens into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Squeeze the liquid from the greens using your hands. Then, in a food processor puree the spinach and arugula. Add garlic and fresh basil to taste (I used two cloves and several leaves) and enough olive oil to make it moist. You might need to add more oil as the mixture mashes. Cook your pasta according to the directions on the box. (I boiled mine in the green’s water for the extra nutritional goodness.) Drain. Stir chopped tomatoes into the pasta. Spoon pesto over pasta and mix well, use as much or as little as you like. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
So flexible and versatile. How could you go wrong? Pesto freezes really well. I froze some in small Tupperware to pull out one dinner’s worth at a time. Plus, it’s really good to use on chicken or fish or even steak as a kind of a marinade. And (this might be the best part) I told Julia it was Monster Rice, and she finished her plate and asked for seconds.
Too funny! I was just coming here to post a link to a site designed for teaching kids to cook w/ fresh ingredients. The recipe that took me there? Pesto!
One of those things, I guess.
Here's the link, it's an educational program designed for schools, so the recipes are designed to be kid-friendly.
Have fun!
http://www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au/learn-more/resource-area/recipe
Oh, and btw, that last leftover beet? Puree it and freeze it (flat in a ziploc bag) so you can use it later, and it doesn't go to waste.
Thanks for this link! It sounds like a perfect site and just what I need. Veggies and my kids don't always mix. And good idea for the beet. I am starting to think of preserving some of these veggies for when CSA season is over. I forget that I don't HAVE to eat it all in the course of the week.