Author Notes: My kids came home from a friend’s house after dinner one night and raved about a pesto that they ate made with spinach. The fact that my kids were raving about something with spinach caught my attention. Turns out there is a traditional Peruvian pesto called, “Tallerines Verde,” made with spinach, basil, milk, parmesan, garlic and olive oil. The use of milk in a pesto as a way to thin the ingredients without adding too much richness was new to me and further, a pesto without nuts was even better considering my son is allergic to all nuts (sigh). Plus, the ease of making this in a flash is irresistible. WIll forever be grateful to Marybel for passing the Peruvian pesto recipe on and what it has inspired, below.
While staring at the my contents of my frig the other night, hoping for an ingredient to speak to me, I spied a box of arugula and thought about Marybel’s pesto. But no basil except a small but strong plant in my garden and no parmesan but had some feta. Thus the birth of a new summer pasta dish.
—DjeenDjeen
Serves: 4
Ingredients
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1
5 oz. box Arugula (or equivalent)
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2
cloves garlic
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1/4
cup milk
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1/4
cup olive oil
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1
handful Basil leaves, washed and chopped
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5
ounces Feta, crumbled
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3
Tomatoes, cut into rough dice
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salt, pepper to taste
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1
pound Linguine (dried) or other pasta
Directions
- Boil water for pasta.
- Place arugula, garlic, milk and olive oil in food processor and blend until combined. The pesto takes on a creamy look with the milk so don’t be surprised. If it looks too dry, add more milk or olive oil, to taste. Add salt and pepper.
- In a bowl large enough to hold cooked pasta, throw in chopped basil, tomatoes and crumbled feta.
- Add arugula pesto to bowl.
- When water comes to the boil, add pasta and cook according to instructions.
- When pasta is al dente, drain and add to bowl. Mix well and serve.
