Arugula Pesto

June is finally here, and the last week has been brutally hot. And that heat has signaled the end of the Spring arugula season. I'll be able to plant another crop in early September, but the summer here is just too hot for cool weather loving arugula. So... the question before us is what to do with the last mini-harvest of big bolted bitter leaves? As you all know, I'm way too cheap to throw them into the compost bin and, though I love bitter, these are way too strong for even me to eat in a salad. So... I took the cleaned leaves (about 4-5 cups) and put them in the processor with 5 cloves of chopped garlic (I know... but no vampire will ever get me!), a dash of salt and pepper, and started the machine. While running, I drizzled in about 1/2 cup of that great olive oil (from Teitel Bros.) et voila... Arugula Pesto. I know I left out the cheese and nuts... this was an experiment! I then split  2 (4-inch) pieces of baguette lengthwise, slathered the 4 slices with some pesto, topped with fresh mozzarella and Parmesan, and broiled for about 4-5 minutes. Make sure your sheet pan is at least 6 inches from the broiler.

With a salad made from the other lettuces (letti??) in the bed that were still "unbolted," we had a great late Spring supper... and we didn't miss meat at all.

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