Almond Arugula Pesto Recipe Fresh Arugula Pesto
Instructions
Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Set up a bowl of ice water nearby, and grab a wire strainer. Toss the arugula into the boiling water and stir. Cook for ONLY 20 seconds, fish out with the strainer and quickly plunge into the ice water. Let sit for a minutes, drain, and remove the arugula from the water -- squeeze out the water with your hands. Reserve the blanched, drained, and squeezed arugula until needed.
Add the oil, almonds, and garlic to a blender, along with the arugula. Pulse on and off, scraping down the sides of the blender in between blending, until a course pesto is formed. This should only take a minute of on and off blending. 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.
