Arugula

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Early spring. If you’re lucky, again in the fall. We’ve assembled a list of arugula recipes from local Atlanta farmers markets, CSAs, and other sources. Click on the links below to see each recipe.

To clean & store arugula, soak the leaves in a sink or large bowl full of cold water. Especially in hot weather, rehydrating the leafy greens will extend their life by days. You need enough water that the leaves float and the dirt sinks. Swish things around, then let them sit so the dirt settles. Scoop the leaves off the top and wrap them in a dish towel or paper towels and then maybe put all that into a plastic bag. Leave the bag open so moisture can escape.

Check out our arugula recipes from local Atlanta farmers markets & CSAs!

(2019) Baked Fish with Arugula Sauce

Adapted from a Florence Fabricant recipe in New York Times based on a recipe from Armani Ristorante. I love this combination of pink peppercorns and thyme to season the fish – but I have pink peppercorns on hand since I used them to make pink peppercorn ice cream for the AJC. If you don’t have any, and don’t want to go shopping for them, just plain black pepper will be fine, if not as floral in flavor.

(2019) Grilled Something and Arugula Salad

If you don’t want to mix that arugula with lettuce but want to enjoy its sharp flavor on its own, how about this arugula salad? Delicious with any grilled meat but an especially good complement to beef. The original idea came years ago from Prevention magazine. 

Arugula and Asian Pear Salad

Arugula in our boxes, two weeks in a row. Hooray! I love this peppery green, but it can be really bitter. When you’re getting ready to use it, nibble on a leaf or two. If it’s tasting really young and sweet, the less you do to it, the better. I love it tossed with a vinaigrette and then put on top of hot (homemade) pizza.

If it’s more on the bitter side, you might give it sweeter accompaniments.

I love salads with fruit (you may have noticed this already) and believe it or not, I just ate my first Asian pear this week. I’m not sure why I never tried them – just happy with “regular” apples and pears, I guess, and maybe that rusty-looking skin meant I’d have to peel them, and I absolutely hate to peel anything. Turns out the peel is just fine, no need to pare these pears.

What a revelation. Juicy and sweet, I was an instant convert. Locally grown Asian pears are at farmers markets right now, so how about pairing them with the arugula? (ok – way too many puns. sorry.)

Arugula and Pepper Frittata

Having just made 16 different varieties of chili in the past four days, I used up every single pepper that’s come in our boxes for the last 3 weeks (yes, they will keep that long – and though they started out green, they turned yellow and red and even orange as they sat on the counter). I loved it – and given the price of these ripe colorful peppers, I felt that my box had more than paid for itself in peppers alone.

But maybe you haven’t been making chili, chili, chili and you’d need some inspiration for those peppers. I’ve talked about frittatas and baked egg dishes before. They’re just so great for using up a little of this and that, and you can eat them hot, warm, room temperature or cold. I just made one for the AJC that goes by the title of “Spanish Tortilla” – a Cubanelle pepper, potatoes, onions and ham sautéed, a few eggs whisked together and poured over, and the whole thing baked in its skillet for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Easy.

Here’s another frittata idea that will use your arugula and as many peppers as you want to include. It’s adapted from the blog, The Jew and The Carrot. It uses a slightly different method from my Spanish Tortilla since it’s prepared entirely on the cooktop.

Arugula Vichyssoise

If you’re wondering what to do with your arugula besides use it in a salad on or a sandwich, how about making soup? Again, not sure where the recipe came from, but this is just a variation on the classic vichyssoise. Now vichyssoise is usually served cold, but there’s no reason you can’t serve it piping hot. No leek? Onions or shallots will do in a pinch.