Arugula Pesto Recipe

I had a surplus of some exceptionally peppery and big, leafy arugula the other day and needed to find a good way to utilize it. I love arugula – it’s a wonderful, spicy leafy green to eat raw and add to mixed salad greens. Try it with roasted beets and goat cheese or alone, drizzled with olive oil and aged balsamic. Arugula is an excellent source of vitamins A and C, folic acid, calcium, manganese, and magnesium. It contains a group of anticancer compounds that have potent antioxidant activity, and stimulate the body’s natural detoxifying enzymes. Arugula and other deep greens contain phytochemicals such as chlorophyll, essential for oxygenating the body and flooding it with nutrients.

Because I avoid dairy, I needed to create a dairy-free pesto recipe. I LOVE pesto, and it’s great the traditional way with basil, pine nuts, and fresh grated parmesan cheese. Check out this alternative, using miso and walnuts. Delicious.

Arugula Pesto

2 cups arugula leaves, de-stemmed and packed (i also threw in a little fresh basil i had left over; can add flat leaf parsley too)
6 garlic cloves, lightly roasted in a pan for about 10 minutes for a milder flavor. Using raw garlic can overpower the other subtle flavors.
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp white miso (or you can use nutritional yeast as a sub)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Place everything in food processor and blend, drizzling olive oil in. Remove and add salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Use with brown rice pasta, over spaghetti squash, over chicken breasts, or on veggie or hamburgers. Enjoy.