Peppery rocket pesto recipe

 
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Peppery rocket pesto recipe

can also be used as a dip, garnish or dressing

Who doesn't love a peppery bit of rocket (arugula) in the summer months?  I’ve always found rocket quite easy and quick to grow at home.  It can easily bolt & go to seed if you don’t keep the soil moist and do regular cuttings.  This is exactly what happened to my little crop as I was distracted with work/kids/life. 

So I whipped up this batch of rocket pesto, keeping the ingredients simple and using up what I had in.

Rocket flowers are edible and make a pretty garnish for summer dishes. On the weekend I made a rocket pesto as a quick and easy change from the traditional basil variety. We ate it drizzled over @profusion chickpea penne decorated with rocket flowers. It also makes a great dip, garnish for soup or dressing for salads. Enjoy!

The Ingredients

  • 1 colander full of rocket or a large bag from the store

  • 30g nutritional yeast

  • 50g chickpeas (can also use traditional pine nuts or a nut of legume of your choice)

  • Generous glug of Extra virgin olive oil

  • Sea salt

  • Black Pepper

  • 1 garlic clove grated

  • Juice of half a lemon

The Instructions

  1. I blanched my rocket because it came from my garden and was quite hard to clean. You can also use raw.

  2. Place rocket, nutritional yeast, chickpeas, olive oil, garlic and seasoning in a blender and blitz until smooth.

  3. Stir in the lemon juice

  4. Store in a glass airtight container in the fridge

The Science

Rocket is a peppery, distinctive-tasting green that originated in the Mediterranean region. It’s also known as arugula, rucola, salad rocket, and Italian cress.

It is packed with nitrates which are converted to nitric oxide in your body which is antimicrobial but also crucial in relaxing blood vessels and maintaining healthy blood pressure, supporting physical activity and brain function (reference).

Rocket is part of the cruciferous family. These contains glucosinolates, key phytonutrients which give cruciferous vegetables their signature sulfur smell. Consuming cruciferous vegetables can help remove unwanted inflammation and have even been shown to have cancer fighting properties.