Marta @martascooking shared this delicious pesto recipe made with arugula, walnuts, capers and ricotta unlike the more well-known basil-pine nut combo. I love arugula so this was a delicious new discovery for me! The creamy ricotta does a nice job of cutting some of the bitterness of the arugula, too.
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🍷Alan @altrottasamphora suggests a Pinot Grigio to pair with it.
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🍆She used this pesto to roll up grilled eggplant for a nice, quick summer appetizer. Here I served it with some rotini pasta and it was the perfect pasta shape to catch all the sauce.
What’s to love about this arugula-walnut pesto?
- much cheaper to make then its basil-pine nut sister
- full of healthy antioxidants from arugula and walnuts
- the creamy pesto version you’ve been missing out on!
Arugula-Walnut Pesto with Ricotta
Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
- ½ cup (50g) walnuts
- ½ cup (50g) Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tsp. capers
- 2 ½ cups (50g) arugula
- Extra virgin olive oil, ¼-½ cup, add as needed
- 1 cup (200g) ricotta cheese, drained
- A few basil leaves
- About 1 lb. Rotini pasta
Directions:
1. Make the pesto. In a food processor add some of the walnuts, some of the cheese, capers, and half arugula. Add in about ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil and pulse. Do not over process to prevent heating the blades. When just the arugula is slightly broken down, add the remaining walnuts, cheese, arugula and more olive oil if needed. Pulse a few more times until you get a smooth, yet somewhat liquid-y paste. Drizzle a bit more olive oil if needed.
2. To the pesto, add 3 Tablespoons of the ricotta and mix together. Meanwhile cook your pasta.
3. When pasta is done, toss pasta with the pesto-ricotta mixture. Stir together and then stir in remaining ricotta or spoon ricotta on top for a nice presentation. Top pasta with basil leaves, extra walnut crumbles and drizzle of olive oil if desired. Enjoy immediately.
Wine pairing suggestion: Pinot Grigio
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