Springtime Rocket Pesto

That peppery-flavored beer from the other night clearly left its influence on my palate. Sometime over the last 72 hours, I began daydreaming about rocket pesto, which culminated in yesterday afternoon being entirely de-railed so as to forage for the ingredients I'd need to make some.

Rocket—that's Roquette to you Frenchies, Arugula for the Americans, and Eruca Sativa to the Wikipedians. It's the wonderful little leaf that we could all stand to spend some more time with, and switching it out for basil in a traditional pesto recipe is one of my favorite uses for it. It whips up into a fantastic neon green (below), is amazingly good for you, and tastes simply delicious. Here's what I combined in the food processor to whip mine together:

• 1 4 oz. bag of rocket
• juice from 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 cloves peeled garlic, quartered
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• salt and pepper to taste
• dash sugar (optional)

As usual, I was too excited to bother measuring anything, so all amounts are approximate. Consistency and flavor are what you're after, though, so use your judgment and decide what it needs more of. Too garlicky for you? Add more nuts and cheese. Too dry? Add more olive oil. I threw in a dash of sugar right at the end to relax the flavor ever so slightly. I also added five or six cherry tomatoes we had sitting around that needed to be either used or tossed, and they helped loosen things up to a hummus-like consistency, which is how I like it best.

 

If you're sensitive to what some Californians call The Stinking Rose (i.e. you're not so fond of that pickled tongue sensation that excessive amounts of raw garlic can bring on), I would recommend roasting prior to blending it in with the other ingredients. In this case, you can even cheat by microwaving the bulbs in a covered ramekin with some olive oil until they're soft, but oven roasting will definitely bring out a rich and smokey dimension that'll only make your pesto taste better. Serve it over the pasta of your choice with more parmesan, some fleur de sel, and a bottle of red wine. (That's cheese for you Frenchies, sea salt for the Americans, and an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grape juice for the Wikipedians. As Johnny Lydon once said:

Comments

[Liz F]

I'm making the rocket pesto tonite, Mike, thanks!

[r:m:b]

Great, hope you like it! It's unusual, but very delicious, and it negates the need for a side salad, since the greens are built right into the main dish! -Mike