Arugula Walnut Pesto

Most people think of basil and pine nuts when they think of pesto sauce. And there's nothing wrong your pesto being made up of basil and pine nuts . I like it quite a bit. But sometimes you need a change. Or the pine nuts are just too expensive and the basil doesn't look so hot. I've played around with different pestos and I find that arugula is a pretty good substitute for basil and toasted walnuts are a good compliment to replace the pine nuts. Not to mention the omega-3s in the walnuts and the multiple vitamins in arugula.

Ingredients

5 ounces of arugula (about 4 or 5 cups)

1/2 cup crushed toasted walnuts

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large cloves of garlic

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons lemon juice

pepper to taste

Directions

Combine the walnuts, salt, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth. Add the arugula about a cup at a time, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add pepper to taste.

I tossed about three servings of whole wheat linguini with some of the pesto and there is still about half of it left. As for the rest...I'm thinking it might taste good smothered on some bread, on a wrap with sauteed vegetables, or maybe just some spinach pasta.