Arugula Pesto Recipe - Nut Free Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (2024)

FAQs

How to make pesto Rachael Ray? ›

Add nuts, garlic, zest of 1 lemon and salt to a food processor and pulse into a fairly smooth paste. Add cheese to nut paste and add about 3 tablespoons EVOO; process until smooth. Pulse process basil into sauce until fairly smooth, adding juice of 1 lemon and remaining EVOO.

Cashews. Cashews resemble pine nuts in color, texture and mild sweetness, and can be used as a substitute in just about any recipe. Stick to unsalted versions (roasted or raw varieties both work), and toast them to provide extra depth of flavor.

Arugula pesto made with fresh arugula leaves, garlic, olive oil, walnuts, and Parmesan cheese.

The basic ratio is 1:2:2:8 (1 part nuts, 2 parts oil, 2 parts grating cheese, 8 parts leaves or herbs), plus garlic, lemon, and salt and pepper to taste.

Add a pinch of salt if the basil tastes too bitter or the pesto needs more zing. Add more Parmesan if you'd like a creamier/cheesier pesto. If desired, you can thin out the pesto with more olive oil.

As they are light in flavor and have a creaminess, sesame seeds are also a good nut free substitute for pine nuts in pesto. While you can use sesame seeds as they are, I recommend dry toasting them for a few minutes first to bring out their flavor.

But the thing about that (very delicious) pesto is that it's not very friendly to people who can't eat dairy or nuts. And if said people are already suffering from a nut allergy or the inability to eat cheese, it is basically criminal to deny them pesto as well. Enter this golden raisin pesto.

A nut free pesto recipe, perfect for those with nut allergies. Made similar to a traditional Italian green pesto. Using fresh basil, parmesan, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and lemon seasoned with salt and pepper it's a pesto without pine nuts that's still full of flavour.

Arugula pesto can be refrigerated in an airtight container (e.g., a mason jar) for 4 days or frozen in ice cube trays for up to 6 months. I normally add a drizzle a thin layer of olive oil on the top of the pesto before refrigerating or freezing it so it won't discolor as easily.

How do you take the bitterness out of arugula? ›

Blanching: Blanching involves quickly plunging the vegetables into boiling water and then transferring them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. This method can help reduce bitterness. Place the arugula or spinach in boiling water for about 10 to 20 seconds, then immediately transfer them to a bowl of ice water.

Arugula's popularity has as much to do with its health benefits as its taste. One study cites arugula as being particularly high in cancer-fighting agents. This delicious green is a nutrient-dense food that is high in fiber and phytochemicals. Arugula is low in sugar, calories, carbohydrates, and fat.

The easiest way to thicken your pesto sauce is to add cornstarch. In a small bowl, start with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and add an equal amount of cold water or vegetable broth. Mix until it becomes a smooth paste; this is called a slurry. Whisk in a little at a time as in not to over thicken your pesto sauce.

Its scarcity, plus the fact that the plants are picked roots, soil, and all to ensure that only juvenile leaves make it into pesto, makes it extraordinarily expensive and something that only premium, artisan pesto makers can justify using.

The ice will shock the herbs and prevent them from browning. You can do this with any type of pesto with other herbs and greens such as parsley, mint or arugula.

Yes, pesto can be used straight from the jar and doesn't require cooking or heating. In fact, we actively discourage applying too much heat to pesto, as this will destroy many of the fresh flavours that producers work so hard to retain.

PESTO SHOULD NEVER BE “COOKED”. If you cook Pesto Sauce, you change the make up of the fresh basil and cause it to turn darker in color. It is best to warm it up and use it at room temperature. If it needs to be thinned out, you can do so by adding a little water, chicken stock, cream or white wine.

Just be aware that exposing pesto to too much heat for too long will change its flavour. Whenever possible, therefore, we add it right at the end of the cooking process to minimise any flavour loss.