arugula*pea*pesto

Happy Friday, friends!!

I don't know about you, but I sure am glad the weekend's here! Like I mentioned yesterday, it's been super busy around here, and I'll be glad come the end of the workday. The weekend is going to be busy, too....but in a good way. It's the engineer's birthday tomorrow (yay!) so we've got several friends coming into town to celebrate. We're also throwing a party tomorrow, sort of a combination of "happy birthday/we got a new deck put in so let's throw a party!"

pretty snazzy, right?

So to prepare for this epicness, your's truly has lots of cooking to do tomorrow! I've got the menu completely somewhat lined up, and I promise that I'll be posting recipes for all of them. It's looking like several grilled pizzas, homemade dips and bread, cocktails, etc. What can I say - when you're cooking for roughly 15 people, you gotta go all out :)

....and see the fire pit? You can bet that we'll be cookin' up some S'MORES!

Anyways, let's get back to the reason for this post. See the title?

arugula*pea*pesto

I had a total blond moment while posting last night and completely forgot to include the ingredient/prep list for the arugula/pea pesto. It's pretty easy, pretty simple, and you just use what you have on hand! Because it's all blended up into a smooth somewhat thick, delicious spread, I did a lot of the ingredient additions to taste. Become one with your food! Put your spoon in there in between pulses, and see how it tastes! And the mouthfeel is compeltely up to you; I like my pestos a bit on the chunkier side, but if you prefer a smoother texture, by all means, blend that until it's smooth as baby's skin.

...is that a weird analogy for pesto? ugh...moving on...

Let's get to it:

what you need:

-several cups of fresh arugula

(I had a 1/2lb. bag from the farmer's market, and can safely say that I used at least 4-5 handfuls)

-1/2 to 1 cup of peas

(I used frozen)

-scant tbsp. of olive oil, plus additional if needed

-1/4-1/2 cup chicken stock (maybe a little more if you like your pesto a little thinner)

....this is where it gets interesting. I love me some pesto, but the amount of olive oil typically used can slightly significantly up the fat and caloric content of said spread. so, in order to alleviate some of that but still keep the flavor, I sub in chicken stock for the majority of the liquid. you still get that wonderful flavor from the olive oil, but the chicken stock adds a different twist to it. Win win!

-parmesan cheese, to taste

(I'd say a 1/4 cup)

-salt&pepper, to taste

-3 to 4 tbsp. toasted nuts - you can use more or less, depending on your taste

(I had walnuts on hand; to toast them, simply place the desired amount into a dry, small skillet, and toast over medium-low heat. You'll know they're done when you start to smell them.*and be sure to watch them! They'll burn in an instant if you turn away*)

-fresh lemon wedge

how to:

1. Place all ingredients (less the olive oil and stock) into a food processor or stand mixer.

....I have a cheapo stand mixer, so I had to do it in batches. ugh.

2. Begin to pulse away until the ingredients have been chopped up slightly.

3. Slowly stream in the olive oil first (since you're using less of this), then add in the chicken stock. You'll want to watch the pesto, and stop when it reaches the desired consistency.

4. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, and enjoy!

Side note:

This pesto is a wonderful, multi-purpose kitchen sauce. Not only did I use it on yesterday's sandwich, but I've also tossed with with pasta (and some of the starchy pasta water) for a quick and easy dinner. It coats the pasta wonderfully, and has such a wonderful, peppery flavor. And if you are a pesto traditionalist, you can omit the stock and use all EVOO. It's up to you!

Be on the lookout for more tasty posts later on :)

Cheers, and happy weekend!