Arugula and Parsley Pesto

First, before I introduce this delicious pesto, I have some exciting news that I haven’t shared with you yet.  In addition to my internship in Sacramento at a PR firm, I recently landed the perfect internship for me.  The Davis Farmers Market (voted America’s Favorite Farmers Market!) is putting together a cookbook about cooking by utilizing ingredients from the market, and I was chosen to be their social media marketing intern to help promote the book, and the farmers market! I am so incredibly excited about this opportunity, and I am really looking forward to showing you what I have learned there.

So anyways.  Here is a very simple, but different pesto (and you know I LOVE pesto), that I put together on the fly.  Have you noticed how expensive store bought pesto is? The kind that I like is almost six dollars for a fairly small container – and I go through pesto pretty quickly if we are being honest, so this container doesn’t really cut it. The remedy for this situation is to make your own pesto, which is so easy and so fun because you can adjust the flavors to your liking.

I made two kind of pesto here, but both those pestos used basil. This time, I decided to switch it up and use some arugula and some parsley (which my roommate Sydney GREW in her plant science class!!!), and the results were amazing.  I love arugula for its pepperiness, and that pepperiness works perfectly in the pesto.  I am glad that I used the parsley because it balanced the bold flavor of the arugula amazingly.  You could put this on anything – pasta, sandwiches, stuffed mushrooms (coming soon!), eggs etc., and the list goes on.

Arugula and Parsley Pesto

Make about 1 cup of pesto 

• 2 cups fresh arugula, loosely packed
• 1 cup parsley leaves, stems removed
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• salt and pepper, to taste
• olive oil (the amount you use really depends on whether you like you pesto more liquidy or more pasty…I like it more liquidy so I probably used about 3/4 cup, maybe more)

This recipe is ridiculously easy, plus it gives you a chance to utilize the food processor, which is a win win in my eyes.  Start by throwing the arugula, parsley, pine nuts, and garlic in the food processor.

greens!

Pulse for about 10 to 15 seconds until combined into a paste.  Taste and see how much salt and pepper you need to add, if any!

pesto-y

Next, with the food processor running slowly drizzle in the olive oil (as much as you like).  Stop periodically to test the consistency of the pesto.

bad photo, but you get the picture

Serve over whatever you like!  Here it is with some orecchiette…

little ears

I could not tell you how long this will keep for, because lets be honest I ate it in two sittings.  However, from my internet research I would say that you could keep this in fridge for about a day or so before the arugula starts to turn brown.

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