too much arugula

[dct]

I'm garden-sitting and have big bunches of arugula to contend with. I like it in moderation, but I need some ways of using up a lot at once. I'd prefer no salad recipes as the same garden is also full of lettuce and can only eat so much salad.

[Caitlin McGrath]

I like to chop up a bunch of arugula leaves and stir them into a wild mushroom risotto right before it comes off the stove, so they just have time to wilt. Its pepperiness makes a nice contrast to the rich and creamy risotto, similar to MMRuth's carbonara.

[karykat]

My arugula soup used less than I thought. So I have a bunch left over. I will be going over these great ideas to come up with a way to use it. Thanks!

[MMRuth]

This won't use up a lot, but last night, rather than making an arugula salad to serve with carbonara (I was using penne rigate), I just added a couple of handfuls of arugula to the pasta after I added the hot pancetta/fat and tossed well so it wilted a bit. Delicious.

[karykat]

I'm making an arugula soup right now. It's from a "forgotten" cookbook, for that thread TDQ started.

This one has onion, leeks, potato, chicken broth and arugula. Kind of a vichysoisse (sp) with arugula. We'll have it chilled tonight.

[roxlet]

I dress the arugula with a lemon and olive oil dressing and then put sliced charcoal grilled steak on top. The juices from the meat mix with the lemony dressing and then you sop up the whole delicious mess with a nice piece of crusty bread.

[TongoRad]

Shrimp 'tacos' with arugula (lightly dressed with a lemon vinaigrette), thinly sliced red onion and goat cheese.Come to think of it, those strawberries mentioned earlier in the thread would probably work in this application as well. Maybe even some kiwis...

Another idea would be a nice Veal Milanese- a pounded veal chop, breaded and pan fried, topped with dressed arugula and shaved parmagiano. (I will never stop loving this dish, no matter how trite and overplayed it seems to become.)

[Analisas mom]

oh a couple more, you can make a quiche with it and also use it to make stuffed mushrooms.

[Analisas mom]

I make cream of arugula soup also arugula souffle and my fav I use it in risotto. I even use it to top taco's it's so good. I am jealous of you it about 6.99 per lb in my area.

[The Dairy Queen]

Would you mind sharing your recipe for arugula souffle, please?

~TDQ

[Analisas mom]

I use a spinach souffle recipe just use the arugula instead of the spinach. I use Julia childs recipe it works every time.

[The Dairy Queen]

Aha! Very clever. Thank you so much.

~TDQ

[dct]

It's been cool here--soup is a nice idea. How do you do it?

[lynnlato]

As others have said, pesto and as a pizza topping are both great ideas.

I also really enjoy grilled potatoes over arugula w/ a blue cheese vinaigrette. 'Course you could modify it any way you like, but the warm potatoes and the cool, peppery arugula compliment one another well.

[ScarletB]

This is salad-ish, but not. Recently I had wood-fired pizza that was topped with arugula after it came out of the oven. Soooo good! The pizza, which you could grill, had pesto and dollops of ricotta, and then the arugula was dressed with olive oil and a good amount of salt, enough that I could taste it, which I loved. I'm totally addicted now and plan on trying grilled pizza this summer just so I can top it with arugula!

[cdog]

pesto is the best way to go..you can freeze and save
i like to use some with sausage and make a nice sandwich out of it...

[Den]

I like the pesto idea and freezing it...good one!

While not as good a volume solution, arugula goes very well with most meats, especially grilled meats. Rough chop some arugula, mix it with some olive oil, lemon juice and some salt and pepper and eat it with chicken, steak or pork. It's an excellent flavor. Also macerated strawberries (balsamic) with fresh arugula are fantastic.

[LNG212]

We like 2 dishes that use up large bunches of arugula :
1) cold dressed with lemon and a dash of olive oil on top of (cooked) pizza with gruyere and roasted wild mushrooms. The bite of the lemon/arugula cuts the richness of the gruyere and mushrooms. Also the cold/hot is a nice contrast.
2) sauteed on stovetop with garlic, shallots, sundried tomatoes; then add (cooked) tortelloni and a bit of vegetable stock; top with toasted pine nuts. It's simple and very tasty.

In both cases we use a large bunch of arugula each.

[cassoulady]

Cook pasta and melt gorgonzola with butter, toss the suace over pasta with the arugula.

[JungMann]

Sauteed with garlic, butter, and tomatoes and plenty of parmesan as a quick condiment for pasta
As a topping for sandwiches (great especially with roast beef)
Pureed for pesto
Wilted like spinach as a side to grilled steak

[Pistou]

Thanks for the pasta suggestion. I had a big bunch of arugula from my csa, the single thing historically most likely to go bad and get composted from my veggie box. Here's what we did:

Sauteed half a red onion in a few Tbsp olive oil until it was soft and just a little caramelized. Then added about 1 1/2 c. chopped tomatoes (these were frozen ones that I semi-dries in the oven last summer, so they were extra delish, but sundried rehydrated in some boiling water would have worked, too). Then added 3 cloves minced garlic, the washed and chopped arugula, about 1 tsp. anchovy paste and a generous Tbsp. of capers. Oh, and a splash of the pasta water to make it a little saucier. Sauteed until the arugula was nice and soft and put it over whole wheat penne with a little crumble of feta. My partner kept interrupting over dinner to say, "Oh my god this is delicious!"

No more composted arugula. Hooray!

[westaust]

I like arugula on top of a nice thin crust pizza, with a drizzle of hot pepper/herbed oil

[Nettie]

Variation: pizza bianco, with ricotta and mozzarella, topped with arugula. I prefer my arugula a little more wilted, so I put it on the pizza and leave it in the oven for a few minutes, but most suggestions are to put it on after it comes out of the oven and let the residual heat wilt it.

[The Dairy Queen]

I like it with watermelon and goat cheese and a light drizzle of vinaigrette. Salt and pepper...

~TDQ

[carswell]

Make pesto with it. Haven't tried freezing arugula pesto but imagine it would freeze as well as basil pesto.