Arugula Pesto Pasta

Charleston is coming back to life with beaches, restaurants, and retail open with limitations. It seems like overnight the traffic went from non-existent to full force with many out of state license plates. I hear a lot of people complaining but for me, it’s a welcome sight. When I quit my full time job in January to pursue my own business, Airbnb was the safety net while I got up and running. It has been a shock as we had an empty rental from mid-March through mid-May when it was almost fully booked.

While the city is opening up, I am making it a goal not to fall back into old habits of eating out. We have consistently been prepping lunches for the week and cooking dinner almost every night. From mid-March through today we ordered carry out 5 times. Most of those were planned ‘night off’ days. Instead of going out, I’ve started planning 3 very low intensity meals each week to help with cooking burnout.

Today’s pasta is a little more intense than brats on the grill but still fairly easy. Blend up some greens, cook some pasta, and add in some toppings.

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Arugula Pesto Pasta

Serves 2

• 3 cups arugula

• ¼ c sliced almonds

• ¼ cup loosely filled basil

• ⅓ cup olive oil

• 1 tsp minced garlic

• 1 lemon juiced (~ ¼ cup juice)

• 1 TBS grated parmesan cheese

• ½ box Rotini Pasta

• 2 cups chopped mushrooms (bella or cremini)

• 6-8 cherry tomatoes

• Topping: sprinkle of Goat Cheese

1. Blend (in small blender or food processor) arugula, almonds, basil, olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese until smooth

2. Bring water to a boil with salt

3. Cook pasta just under recommended time

4. Chop mushrooms and tomatoes while pasta cooks

5. Drain pasta

6. Add mushrooms to the pasta pot and cook over medium low heat for 3-5 minutes until they begin to soften

7. Add pasta back in with sliced cherry tomatoes

8. Pour over arugula pesto and stir to cover and warm

9. Dish out pasta and top with goat cheese