Arugula Pesto with Hazelnuts and Lemon
Arugula is available for a short time in both the Spring and the Fall, and when its here, it is bounteous! Pesto is a great way to use up that bounty. We like to make a big batch of pesto, then use a cookie scoop to portion it out into 2 Tbsp balls. Place them on parchment and freeze. Once frozen, you can put them in an air-tight container and back into the freezer. These pre-portioned pesto balls are ready to use and will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of fresh arugula
- ¼ cup of hazelnuts
- ¼ cup of parmesan cheese, grated
- ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
- Juice and zest of one lemon
- ½ tsp salt
Method:
- Add arugula, hazelnuts, parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt, and lemon zest to a blender or food processor. Pulse until fully combined and ingredients form a smooth, green paste.
- If thinning is needed or if having trouble with blending, add more olive oil and pulse to combine.
- Remove from the blender and mix in lemon juice. Serve immediately.
- If wanting to store half for later, place one half of the pesto in a container and refrigerate without the lemon juice. Add half of the lemon juice to the remaining pesto and enjoy, and add the remaining juice to the other half when ready to serve. This will keep the stored pesto nice and green until ready to eat!