Arugula Pecan Pesto

[aargnzarf]

This is kind of an unusual dish - at least I've never seen arugula
prepared this way. I wasn't sure what I thought of the flavors at
first, but it grew on me. I kind of felt the recipe could use a
little extra zing or some tweaking, but I figured the unusual nature
warrented posting anyway. I also forgot to add the garlic clove that
I peeled, so that may have been a contributing factor. :]~

I just finished eating a plateful of leftovers and dressed the
pesto-covered noodles with a small handful of chopped pecans, a
sprinkling of chevre, and a litte salt. This was really good and gave
the kick I was looking for to round things out. Mmmmm.

If you don't have a food processer you can successfully make this in a
blender, it may take a bit more oil to get things to blend, and a
little poking and prodding.

and now, the recipe....

3/4 cp pecans
1 1/2 cups packed stemmed arugula leaves
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1/3 cup extra virgin olive
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for the table
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt
1 lb lingine

1 Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot for cooking the pasta.

2. Place the nuts in a medium skillet over medium heat. Toast,
shaking the pan occasionally to turn the nuts, u ntil fragrant, about
4 minutes. Cool the nuts.

3. Process the cooled nuts, arugula, and garlic in a food processor,
scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until the
ingredients are finely ground. With the motor running, add the oil in
a steady stream through the feed tube and preocess until thick and
fairly smooth. Scrap the mixture into a bowl large enough to hold the
cooked pasta. (The pesto will be very thinck.) Stir in the cheese,
the nutmeg, and salt to taste. (Salt the pesto generously; it has to
season a pound of pasta.)

4. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta to the boiling water and cook
until the pasta is al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and
drain the pasta. Stir 1/2 cup of the cooking water into the bowl with
the pesto to achieve a saucier consistency. Add the pasta to the bowl
and toss, adding more cooking water as necessary to moisten the past
and help spread the pesto. Serve immediately, passing more grated
cheese at the table.