Pappardelle with Arugula Pesto
I’m dreaming about Spring: fresh spring vegetables, the opening of my neighborhood farmer’s market, my black tulips peaking out of the ground in the front yard. It’s coming, even though it’s about 30 degrees in Seattle as I type this. This is another one for Meatless Monday, if you’re into that kinda thing. Definitely not gluten free or whole30 on this one, but it’s bright and full of vitamin C - a great way to start the week.
I came across a similar recipe to this a few years ago on the cover of a magazine. I don’t even remember which magazine, except that I was walking through the airport to catch a flight and just knew that I needed to eat whatever was in the photo I saw (that’s some good food photography right there). When I got home, I shopped for all the ingredients the next day and made the dish, and now I make a variation of it all the time. I’ve also learned that arugula pesto is a fantastic substitute for basil pesto when it’s not really in season. Basil also costs more, so making the pesto with arugula is a good way to save money and get some fibrous greens into your body. You’ll still feel like you’re just eating a giant bowl of pasta. It’s win/win.
Regarding the pasta: quality counts here. I’ve tried most brands of pasta, and I’m at the point now that we don’t eat it often enough to have to skimp, so I buy either fresh pasta or a really high quality dry pasta. If you’re looking for a cheaper brand to say, feed a ton of people, I often find that Barilla is pretty great, and their gluten free pasta doesn’t fall apart like a lot of brands in case you and wheat don’t get along much. I use pappardelle for this recipe because it mimics the thick zucchini ribbons, but pappardelle can be difficult to find, so I’ve also used fettuccine before, too—any kind of long, ribbony pasta is perfect here.
Food prep tips: Make double the pesto, and freeze half of it for later. The best way to freeze pesto is in an ice cube tray! Fill the spaces about 2/3 of the way with pesto, and then drizzle a little bit of olive oil so there’s an even oil layer over the top of each cube (this will prevent freezer burn on the pesto). Once it’s frozen, you can just twist the pesto cube out and store them in a large freezer bag for later use. This works with basil pesto, too, and a lot of other stuff like fresh herbs, citrus zest, etc. You can also prep almost every ingredient in this recipe ahead of time, i.e. on the weekends, that way it’s just a matter of boiling up some pasta and slicing the zucchini when you get home from work. It comes together so fast, and tastes exactly the opposite.
Ingredients:
- 4-5 cups of fresh arugula
- 4 cloves garlic
- Juice of one lemon
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 2-3 zucchini, 3 if on the smaller side
- 1 pound of pappardelle pasta
- Salt/Pepper
Directions:
Toast the walnuts, smash the garlic cloves, and zest and juice your lemon. Prepare the zucchini by using a vegetable peeler to make ribbons (see photo, below), and set aside. Food prep wins all!
Make the pesto: Pulse half the arugula leaves in a food processor until broken down. Add the garlic, lemon zest, half of the toasted walnuts, half the lemon juice, and a good pinch of both salt and pepper. Pulse until combined.
Turn the food processor on high and slowly pour in the olive oil - the sauce will become a bright green color. Add half the parmesan cheese and puree all together.
Taste the sauce: need more lemon or more salt? Adjust to your taste buds.
In a pot of boiling, salted water (for fuck’s sake, do not forget to salt the pasta water) add the pappardelle and cook until al dente (if you’re using fresh pasta, don’t forget that it cooks much faster than boxed). A minute before the pasta is finished, add the zucchini ribbons to the water for a quick blanche. Drain the pasta and zucchini and add it to a large bowl with the pesto sauce. Gently fold the pasta around until it’s well-combined with the sauce. Add the rest of the arugula leaves, the walnuts, and the cheese, and continue folding until everything is mixed.
Serve! This should feed 4-6 people depending on how much pasta you want to eat (in our house, it’s more like 2 dinners and 2 lunches the next day, if we watch ourselves).
A few alternatives:
- Gluten free: sub the pasta for whatever gf pasta you like
- Whole30: Omit the cheese (sad) and make vegetable noodles with whatever you like - zucchini, butternut squash, carrots - all delicious
- Gotta have meat? Shredded chicken is great in this recipe
