Edamame & Arugula Spread is a great alternative to the popular Bruschetta

Crostini has always been one of my favorite go to appetizers. They’re easy & quick to make and are a heartier cocktail hour food. If you’re coming over to my house odds are there will be some cocktails or wine involved. I always want to have some appetizers on hand to soak up the alcohol. Don’t judge! I confess that normally I make my heirloom tomato bruschetta but I felt like switching things up. This Edamame & Arugula Spread was the perfect option!

Your edamame should look like this before adding to the food processor. Remember to remove the beans from the shells!

The mint really add the perfect finish to Edamame & Arugula Spread.

Arugula is in season right now and I love it’s peppery, bold taste. It’s part of the cabbage family and contains a HUGE amount of lutein, an antioxidant that helps maintain healthy eyes, skin and heart. Arugula doesn’t keep very well so try to buy it and use it up within 2 days, 3 max

I use arugula on its own in salads or in addition to another greens. I love it in soups, on homemade pizza or in my pasta. My absolute favorite is subbing it for basil to make a spicier pesto! When cooked, arugula wilts like spinach so keep that mind when experimenting in your kitchen.

Try this spread over baked parmesan crisps instead of  baguette for a different approach.

Enjoy this for breakfast and switch up your routine!

Edamame & Arugula Spread

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Author: Peony

Recipe type: Appetizer

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup shelled fresh or frozen edamame
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus additional for drizzling
• 1 cup packed baby arugula, divided in 2 piles
• ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ⅛ tsp pepper
• ¼ cup mint to garnish
• olive oil for drizzling
• sliced baguette

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
2. If edamame is still in the pod make sure you take the beans out of the pods before using. Very important!!
3. Cook edamame beans in salted boiling water, uncovered, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then drain and transfer to an ice bath to stop cooking.
4. Pulse edamame beans in a food processor until very coarsely chopped, then transfer half of mixture to a large bowl.
5. Add ¼ cup olive oil, ½ cup arugula, parmigiano reggiano, lemon zest & juice, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper to edamame in processor and purée until smooth.
6. Add smooth mixture into the bowl with chunky edamame..
7. Coarsely chop remaining ½ cup arugula and gently fold into edamame mixture.
8. Cut bread 16 diagonal slices (1/3 inch thick) from baguette and put in a 4-sided sheet pan. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil. Bake until pale golden and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.
9. Spoon edamame mixture onto baguette toasts, then drizzle with oil and top with mint.

Notes

It's VERY important that you remember to remove edamame beans from pods. The outer shell is super coarse & stringy and not something you want to eat.
I buy the pre-shelled edamame from Trader Joes. You can find both fresh or frozen edamame beans and they are inexpensive.
Don't skip out on the mint as garnish!! This is not a garnish you want to miss out on. It really brings the recipe all together for me.

3.3.3077

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Mushroom & Arugula Fusili with Pistachio Mint Pesto

This addicting recipe transpired when I had a craving for pesto pasta but didn’t have any basil at home. My basil obsession prevailed and we ate our entire supply. I’m still impatiently waiting on a new batch to flourish. In the mean time, what could I make that would satisfy my craving?

My ‘newish’ mission is to try my best to use what I already have, in efforts to decrease my household waste. I feel enormous guilt when I throw away food and well, essentially money. Anyhoo, I remembered I had a whole whack of mint from the farmers market, and  I thought that combined with pistachios and a few key ingredients; it would make deliciously smooth and fresh pesto.

TIME SAVER ALERT! Buy shelled pistachios to save time!

Pistachios are a tree nut that are high in protein and rich in dietary fiber. Pistachio trees are commonly found in Turkey, Greece, Italy, Iran, Syria, Lebanon and right here in California, to name a few. They are a ridiculously great source of vitamin E, which is key for healthy skin, eyes and a strong immune system.

I must confess I’m a Trader Joe’s-aholic and I buy most of my nuts there, among other things. They have super convenient shelled pistachios and they are very reasonably priced. I mainly love them because they save me SO MUCH time and I truly dislike the tedious task of removing the shells myself. If you live in Canada and don’t have access to TJ’s, I’ve found them in bulk at some Whole Foods & Safeway stores. I always go for the unsalted ones so I never end up with an over salted recipe. You can always add more but you can’t take it away!

MINT+EVOO+PISTACHIOS+SCALLIONS+GARLIC+PECORINO ROMANO

Heads up I add a lot of garlic to this recipe! I use two large cloves or 3 small,  so please adjust your recipe accordingly depending on preference. I also wait and fold in the green onions and pecorino into the pesto after removing it from the food processor. I just like the texture better that way but feel free to tweak whatever you like.

Stir scallions & Pecorino Romano into the pesto by hand.

This recipe can easily be adapted to a vegetarian recipe by skipping the pancetta. I would probably make it vegetarian style more often if I was just cooking for myself, but my fiancé really loves this dish with pancetta.

Don’t forget to reserve 1 cup of pasta water. This is very important! Add it slowly one tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Adding the pasta water slowly to the pesto pasta adds a rich & creamy component to this dish. Be careful not to add too much at a time.

SERVE THIS DISH FAMILY STYLE IN A BIG PASTA BOWL

Mushroom & Arugula Fusili with Pistachio Mint Pesto is one of my favorite go-to’s when hosting a casual dinner with friends & family. I love to serve this family style in a big pasta bowl and let everyone serve themselves. I put out little bowls of grated Pecorino Romano, shelled pistachios and mint on a tray and everyone can add the final touches to their pasta. People always go in for seconds of this recipe and I never have any leftovers! This recipe will definitely be made again & again at my house!

Enjoy!

Mushroom & Arugula Fusili with Pistachio Mint Pesto

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: Peony

Recipe type: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry roasted pistachios, shelled
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano, finely grated
• 2 cloves garlic, quartered
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• ½ cup mint, loosely chopped
• 3 tbsp parsley, loosely chopped
• 227g small crimini mushrooms, ends trimmed and halved or quartered, dependent on size
• 4 cups arugula, washed and dried
• 8 ounces pancetta, diced
• 454g whole wheat fusili pasta, cooked slightly before al dente
• salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add dried fusili pasta and cook until just before al dente. Use the instructions on the back of the package as a guide but check several times to avoid overcooking. You want to stop the cooking process a little bit before al dente and rinse with cold water. When we mix the pasta later it will cook a little bit more and we don't want overcooked pasta. Remember to reserve 1½ cups pasta water for later. This is very important!! I always take some out during the last stages of boiling process before draining the pasta so I don't forget.
2. Combine pistachios, garlic and mint in the food processor and pulse until a loose paste forms.
3. Add olive oil and a little bit of kosher salt and pulse until smooth.
4. Fold in parmigiano regianno and scallions into pesto mixture.
5. Return the large pot to the burner and add 1 tbsp olive oil or butter and heat over medium high heat.
6. Add pancetta and sauté for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté for another 3 minutes.
7. Add 2 tbsp pasta water and use a wooden spoon to scrap bottom of the pot .
8. Turn to low heat and add pasta to the pot.
9. Add pistachio pesto to the pasta and toss to coat, adding pasta water to thin out the sauce and enhance the creaminess of the dish.
10. Serve on a lush bed of arugula and finish with a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.
11. I love to serve this dish family style and leave the big bowl at the table because people always want seconds of this!
12. Have freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, roasted pistachios and mint and let everyone top their own.

Notes

I love to serve this dish family style and leave the big bowl at the table because people always want seconds of this dish!
Have freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, roasted pistachios and mint and let everyone top their own.

3.2.1311

The post Mushroom & Arugula Fusili with Pistachio Mint Pesto appeared first on The Peony Life.