Penne With Arugula And Walnut Pesto Food

PENNE WITH BROWN BUTTER, ARUGULA, AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper until smooth. Set aside.
• For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.
• In a high-sided skillet, whisk the butter over medium heat until melted. Simmer until foamy. Continue to cook until the butter has a nutty aroma and turns a caramel color, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the pasta, dressing, arugula, tomatoes, Parmesan, pine nuts, and capers. Toss until coated, adding the reserved pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time to loosen the sauce, if needed. Transfer to a large bowl and serve.

PENNE RIGATE WITH ARUGULA-ALMOND PESTO

Steps:

• Combine arugula, almonds, garlic, lemon juice, and cheese in the bowl of a food processor; season with salt. Pulse until coarsely pureed. With motor running, slowly add oil, processing to a paste.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain; transfer pasta to a bowl. Add pesto and toss to coat evenly. Drizzle with oil, garnish with arugula leaves, and serve immediately.

PENNE WITH SUGAR SNAP PEAS AND ARUGULA PESTO

Steps:

• To prepare the penne:
• In a large saucepan of salted boiling water blanch the sugar snap peas for 45 seconds, or until they are crisp-tender, transfer them with a skimmer to a large serving bowl, and toss them with 1/2 cup of the pesto. In the boiling water cook the pasta until it is al dente, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta-cooking water, and drain the pasta in a colander. In the bowl with the sugar snap peas toss the pasta with the reserved pasta-cooking water, 1/4 cup of the remaining pesto, or to taste, and salt and pepper to taste.
• To make the pesto:
• In a food processor combine the arugula, the walnuts, the Parmesan or Sardo, the salt, and the garlic and pulse the motor until the walnuts are chopped fine. With the motor running add the oil in a stream and blend the pesto with hot cooked pasta, potatoes, or vegetables. The pesto keeps, chilled, its surface covered with plastic wrap, for 2 weeks. Makes about 2 cups.

PENNE WITH BLUE CHEESE, PESTO, WALNUTS, AND ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add salt and stir in the penne. Reduce to medium-high and cook penne, uncovered, until al dente, 6-7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in preheated 350-degree o ven until lightly toasted, 4-5 minutes.
• Place pesto and blue c heese in a large serving bowl and using a fork, mash the blue cheese into the pesto.
• Rinse asparagus spears and snap off and discard their tough ends. Break spears into 1 1/2-inch long pieces.
• During the last 3 minutes of the penne cooking time, add asparagus to pot and cook until bright green and crisp-tender. Drain penne and asparagus well in colander. Add to the bowl with the pesto and stir to coat them well. Top with toasted walnuts and serve at once.

ARUGULA AND WALNUT PESTO

Steps:

• Brown 6 garlic cloves with their peels on in a skillet over medium high heat until the garlic is lightly browned in places, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan, cool, and remove the skins.
• Toast the nuts in a pan over medium heat until lightly brown, or heat in a microwave on high heat for a minute or two until you get that roasted flavor. In our microwave it takes 2 minutes.
• Combine the arugula, walnuts, roasted and raw garlic into a food processor. Pulse while drizzling the olive oil into the processor. Remove the mixture from the processor and put it into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
• Because the pesto is so dependent on the individual ingredients, and the strength of the ingredients depends on the season or variety, test it and add more of the ingredients to taste.
• Mix with freshly prepared pasta of your choice. You may need to add a little bit of water or more olive oil to mix the pesto more evenly with the pasta.
• Makes enough pesto sauce for an ample serving of pasta for four people.