Arugula

The sections below were copied with permission from Mi Ae Lipe’s Tastes from the Valley to Bluff: The Featherstone Farm Cookbook (2008).

Storage

Store fresh arugula unwashed in a tightly wrapped bag in the refrigerator vegetable crisper. Unlike some other greens, arugula does not keep well; use within 2 to 3 days.

Complementary Herbs, Seasonings, & Foods

Apples, avocados, bacon, basil, blue cheese, butter, citrus, dill, eggs, fennel, fish, garlic, goat cheese, ham, lemon balm, lemon juice, marjoram, olive oil, onions, oregano, Parmesan cheese, pasta, pears, pecans, pine nuts, poultry, seafood, tarragon, thyme, walnuts.

Serving Suggestions

Links

Cook Out of the Box Blog Focus: Arugula

Recipes

Pasta with Arugula (serves 4)

2&1/2 cups chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Salt and pepper

8 ounces uncooked gemelli pasta

3 cups arugula, torn and trimmed

1/2 cup Asiago cheese, grated

1. Combine the tomatoes, olives, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl; set aside.

2. Cook and drain the pasta. Add the hot pasta and arugula to the bowl.

3. Toss everything together; sprinkle with the cheese, and serve promptly.

Credit: Ruth Charles, Featherstone Farm CSA member

Arugula and Grilled Goat Cheese Salad (serves 4)

Goat cheese can be bought in many different forms. For this recipe, look for cylinder-shaped goat cheese from a delicatessen or for small rolls that can be cut into pieces weighing about 2 ounces.

Croutons

About 1 tablespoon olive oil

About 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 slices Italian bread

Sauce

3 tablespoons apricot jam

4 tablespoons white wine

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Dressing

3 tablespoons walnut oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Salad

1 (8-ounce) cylinder-shape goat cheese

Generous handful of arugula

About 4 ounces frisée (curly endive)

1. Heat the olive and vegetable oils in a frying pan and fry the slices of Italian bread on one side only, until lightly golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

2. To make the sauce, heat the jam in a small saucepan until warm but not boiling. Push through a strained into a clean pan, to remove the pieces of fruit, and the stir in the white wine and mustard. Heat gently and then keep warm until ready to serve.

3. Blend the walnut oil and lemon juice and season with a little salt and pepper.

4. Preheat the broiled a few minutes before serving the salad. Cut the goat cheese into 2-ounce rounds and place each piece on a crouton, untoasted side up. Place under the broiler and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the cheese melts.

5. Toss the arugula and frisée in the walnut oil dressing and arrange attractively on four individual serving plates. When the croutons are ready, arrange on each plate and pour over a little of the apricot sauce.

Credit: Christine Ingram, The Cook's Encyclopedia of Vegetables

Caramelized Onion and Arugula Pasta Sauce (enough for 4-5 servings of pasta - one pound)

1/4  cup olive oil

About 6 cups thinly sliced onions

1/2 t. salt

About 1/2 cup dry white wine, maybe a bit more

About 2 cups arugula, stemmed and sliced - lightly packed

Optional - about 1/2 cup chopped or sliced proscuitto or pancetta.  (La Quercia, an Iowa company making a line of artisanal cured pork products,  sells proscuitto crumbles would which would work well here.  Not cheap but adds a lot of flavor and a little goes a long way.)

Saute onions in oil over medium heat about 15 minutes (maybe cover a few minutes to hold in a little extra moisture).  Add salt, stir, lower heat and cook for about another 30 minutes - until onions are a rich brown and caramelized to your liking.  Add white wine and meat, if you are using it.  Cook another 10-15 minutes.  (You can be cooking the pasta now if you want.  Or this sauce can be made ahead and finished off when pasta is ready.)

Finishing the sauce - heat onions, add arugula and cook for 5 minutes.  Stir hot cooked, drained pasta into the sauce and serve.   Nice optional topping - chopped toasted walnuts and grated parmesan

Credit: Cook out of the Box 2010 - Week 13 

Polenta with Arugula and Gorgonzola (serves 4)

Cook polenta.  Bring 2 cups water to a boil, add 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 t. salt.   Slowly pour in one cup polenta cornmeal (coarsely ground) , while stirring to avoid lumps.  Simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  (Optional - add about 1 T butter or olive oil to the polenta near the end of cooking.)  Vary the thickness by adding a little extra water.  For this recipe you want a creamy and relatively soft polenta.

Cook arugula.  Crush 4 cloves of garlic.  Saute in 1/4 cup olive oil.  (optional - use less olive oil and saute 2 pieces bacon along with the garlic.)  Saute about 10 minutes - taking care not to burn the garlic.  Turn off heat.  Add about 6 cups washed and coarsely chopped arugula to the pan and stir to coat it.  Stir in about 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola or other blue cheese.

Place arugula in the bottom of a baking dish.  Sprinkle with 2 T. balsamic or sherry vinegar.  Spread polenta on top.  Drizzle with a little extra olive oil.  Bake at 400 degrees about 20 minutes - until polenta is lightly browned and bubbling.

Variation - omit blue cheese.  Sprinkle grated parmesan or asiago cheese on top of the polenta before baking or even stir into polenta at the end of cooking.

Credit: Cook out of the Box 2010 - Week 15

Arugula, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

This is a nice recipe which uses whole wheat tortillas as a crust.  Quick, easy, and low calorie.  You could also use a more traditional crust.

Ingredients

1 T. olive oil

1 medium red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

4 cups raw arugula - washed, dried and sliced or chopped

4 6 inch whole wheat tortillas

2 ounces goat cheese (blue cheese would be nice too)

Preparation

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Saute the onion, slowly, in the olive oil for about 10 minutes - until golden brown.

Add the arugula and cook about one minute more.

Place tortillas on a baking sheet.  Top each with the arugula onion mixture.  Divide cheese among pizzas.  Bake about 10 minutes until tortillas are crisp and cheese is slightly melted.

Credit: Cook Out of the Box - Focus: Arugula

White Beans and Arugula 

4 cups canned or cooked white beans

1/4 cup olive oil

2 t. finely chopped garlic

1 t. fresh sage, chopped

2 large tomatoes, chopped or one 15 oz. can diced tomatoes

3/4 t. salt, red or black pepper to taste

4 cups chopped fresh arugula

1 T. wine vinegar

Saute garlic in oil for a few minutes, add sage and saute a few minutes more.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Cover and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.  Taste for seasoning.  Stir in wine vinegar and serve in a heated bowl with good crusty bread and extra olive oil.

If desired - this could be mixed with cooked pasta for a filling one dish meal.

Credit: Cook out of the Box 2010 - Week 20

Last updated on March 16, 2012 by Featherstone Farm