Springtime Almond Arugula Spinach Pesto

I don’t plan ahead as much as I’d like to. When I wrote that sentence I meant it about food and meal planning, but that sentence also works for wedding planning, turn out.

I have many married friends, so I knew all along that the small stuff would sneak up on me in the last few months, but WHOA. I’ve had near breakdowns lately about everything from water cups to medium-grey undertones. Ryan was up until 4am earlier this week drawing diagrams for the Christmas lights we’re stringing up in our tent. WHAT IS HAPPENING WHO ARE WE BECOMING.

So I apologize for my absence. I’ve had every intention of posting every week, but then a recipe doesn’t work in the short time I have set aside to make and shoot for a post, and there goes that week’s opportunity. It will get better after July. After my anxiety comes from normal things that aren’t the shade of lavender of my 1-year-old nephew’s bowtie.

Ahem, anyway, the way I was going to start this post: I don’t plan ahead much, but I do often have individual servings of pesto in the freezer (ice cube trays ftw). It’s usually basil pesto, since Farmer Ryan brings it home whenever I make a request. However, with spring popping up everywhere, I’ve been all about arugula lately.

This pesto is made with simple ingredients that combine into a springtime flavor bomb: roasted almonds, roasted garlic, arugula, spinach, olive oil, salt and pep – that’s it!

I’ve been obsessed with roasted garlic lately. Although I’m not much of a meal planner, I have been roasting garlic just about every week since I posted this soup last month. It adds so much flavor to everything! I sometimes eat the cloves plain. I realize that’s a little gross and I love it anyway.

If you don’t want to roast garlic, you can use regular garlic; it just won’t have that same caramelized rich undertone. If you go raw I’d start with just a clove and taste and go from there – raw is much more intense than roasted garlic.

I’ve been eating this pesto on top of salads, in pasta, dolloped on pizza, and in sandwiches. I was very close to posting a recipe that was just a scoop of this pesto on top of buttered noodles. Because that is exactly what I want to eat every night, and it’s a struggle not to just do that.

Print Recipe

Almond Arugula Spinach Pesto

A simple springtime pesto make with arugula, almonds, and roasted garlic!

Yield: 1 cup

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups baby arugula
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 cloves roasted garlic*
• ½ cup roasted almonds (I used unsalted)**
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• Several turns fresh cracked pepper (to taste)
• 8 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons water, to thin (optional, as necessary)

Directions:

1. Combine the arugula, spinach, roasted garlic, and almonds in a food processor. Process until finely chopped (see photo).
2. Drizzle in the olive oil with the processor running, scraping down the sides as necessary, until mostly smooth. Add salt and pepperEat as is, or drizzle in water until you reach your desired consistency.

*For instructions on roasting garlic, see this post. If you don't want to roast garlic, I'd recommend cutting down to 1 clove, since raw garlic is much more intense than roasted.
**If you're using salted roasted almonds, taste the pesto before you add any additional salt.