I was hoping for some fennel in my CSA delivery this week, but it was not to be. I really like fennel frond pesto. I’ve just about decimated my basil plant so I decided to make pesto with something else. I did get some arugula to go along with the bunch of cilantro that I bought earlier this week.
The recipe is adapted from Veganivore.
- 2.5 c. arugula or baby arugula
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro (or a little more if you really like cilantro)
- 1/2 c. pine nuts
- 1/2 c. olive oil
- 2 T. lemon juice
- 2 t. minced garlic
- 1 t. Fleur de sel (or sea salt)
- up to 1 t. freshly-grated pepper
- 1/2 C grated parmesan cheese, more to taste
For the pesto:
Combine arugula, cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper into a blender or food processor. In a pan, toast the pine nuts for a minute or two and add to the blender. Pulse the blender until all pesto is thick and creamy and a bright, beautiful green- pausing to scrape unblended ingredients from the sides if you need to. Have a quick taste and adjust salt if necessary. Use a rubber spatula to scrape every bit of the pesto from the blender and enjoy!
I mixed it with some penne pasta and for a gluten free version, buckwheat groats.
