Rockin’ Rocket Salad

May 31, 2010
Denise Smith

Popping into my local vegetable market for a couple of items is proving to be more of a challenge as spring unfolds. Each day there seems to be more and more fresh, local produce to choose from and I find it hard to resist. Currently, my new fave green is Ontario arugula (otherwise known as rocket or rucola). Arugula is a leafy, aromatic green that comes loose and pre-washed or in bunches with stems. Be prepared to pay a little more for the pre-washed. Arugula is very low in calories and high in fibre, Vitamins A and C. Unfortunately, arugula will not stay fresh for long and it should be consumed within two days of purchasing or picking it.

Traditionally, arugula was popular in Italian and French cuisine, but more and more we see this peppery, mustard-flavoured green showing up in other types of dishes. Like spinach, arugula is good eaten raw or cooked. It can be tossed into pasta dishes, thrown on top of pizza or piled high on a sandwich, but more often than not, I use arugula as a salad green. The younger, smaller leaves are milder in taste than the larger ones, and tend to be better suited to salads.

Last night I made a simple arugula salad as a side dish to have with grilled chicken and it was delicious. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Warm Arugula and Asparagus Salad

Serves 3

You’ll Need

• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 asparagus spears, cut into 2” pieces
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 2 Tbsp pine nuts
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 3 cups arugula, torn into bite-sized pieces
• Goat cheese
• Sea salt, to taste

Prep and Cook

1. Add olive oil to a heated skillet.
2. Saute asparagus, broccoli, pine nuts and mushrooms until vegetables are bright green and pine nuts are slightly browned.
3. Arrange a pile of arugula on each plate, crumble with goat cheese and then top with warm vegetables from the skillet.

What is your favourite seasonal ingredient?

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated, and will not appear on this blog until the author has approved them.

name email location notify me of follow-up comments?	submit the word you see below

Our Commenting Policy

Manners are important to moms. So it won’t surprise you that at SavvyMom Media we try our best to keep the discussion respectful. While we hope you will share your thoughts in the comments, we ask that you keep it clean. Please avoid all profanity, derogatory terms, advertising/spam, and unsubstantiated personal attacks. If you see a comment that you feel is abusive, please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

We promise not to delete your comments unless they violate these terms, though we sincerely hope we won’t have to make that decision. For more detail on our commenting policy and procedures, please see our complete Community Guidelines