At the pub where I imbibe my many alcoholic beverages of choice, sits a CD jukebox with an eclectic array of tunes.
One of the CD’s in there is by William Shatner…yes, Captain Kirk of Star Trek fame. The dude also dabbled in some “music”. I’m not sure if his musical tangent was sarcastic or serious – you decide.
Here, he sings or rather…narrates the lyrics to Elton John’s Rocket Man. This version is bad that it’s good! Little bored with the same song mix in your CD changer? Need to shake up the tunes at your next party? Throw in some Bill Shatner tunes. You might not fill the dance floor but the you’ll stir up some good conversation and a gaffaw or five.
So, it’s here that I tie Rocket Man, Bill Shatner and my dish du jour…Spaghetti with a Rocket Pesto.
Elly of Elly Says OPA! is the hostess of Eat to the Beat where food bloggers post a food or beverage related to a song.
If you’re interested in contributing, you still have until June 30th to create a dish and submit a tune.
Arugula is pesto and pesto is arugula. I planted some rocket this year in my garden and it was looking full, lush and green but it’s starting to grow long, look a little weedy and I figure, save (eat) what I can of the rocket before it goes into the composter.
So, without further ado, here’s the Rocket Pesto recipe.
Rocket (Arugula) Pesto
(for 4)
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 cups of fresh rocket
1 cup of fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp. of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. black pepper
splash of good balsamic vinegar
500gr. package of dry spaghetti
salt
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and then add a good amount of salt. Add your pasta and cook according to package’s instructions.
- Wash and pat-dry your rocket and basil leaves. Add the greens into your food processor along with the garlic, balsamic vinegar, grated cheese and half of your walnuts.
- Pulse until the mixture is blended and then run your processor at a high speed. Now gradually add your stream of olive oil into the pesto mixture.
- Adjust seasoning and consistency of pesto (more oil, cheese or any other ingredient lacking). Add the remaining walnuts, pulse a few more times.
- Empty the pesto into a tub and reserve for upto 1 week in your fridge.
- When your spaghetti is cooked, drain and add your your pesto while tossing to coat. Add some grated cheese and fresh ground pepper and serve immediately.
33 Responses
Looks good from here! I make some pretty awesome pestos myself, but I have yet to make an arugula pesto. Thanks for sharing! Hope to see you tomorrow!
I have not tried an arugula pesto yet. It looks and sounds good!
Oh, I adore arugula pesto (in fact more than basil.) yours look svery nice.
Looks delicious, Peter! I have never had arugula pesto myself but I love arugula and I doubly-love pesto so of course I would enjoy this. Thanks for participating in the event. Can I confess something? I own a CD by Fear of Pop, an experimental CD spearheaded by Ben Folds (of Ben Folds Five). Anyhow, there is a William Shatner song on there and I love it. Ha!
Venturing far from the attractiveness of your pesto to ruminate on all that is William Shatner… this Rocket Man performance makes me (almost) hate to admit I had the deepest crush on Captain Kirk while growing up, despite the fact that he kept getting it on with so many alien women. But hey, what happens in deep space stays in deep space, even on the starship Enterprise.
That said, this is a nice entry and it sounds like a fun event. Makes me want to “Eat to the Beat” as well!
I’ll take the pasta, but “no thanks” on Captain Kirk!
I am laughing hysterically!
“on such a..TIMELESS flight”..lolol
I love arugula. I’ll have to add this to the “to try” list! And I think the William Shatner records (I think there were 2 of them) were intended as a joke and not many people got it.
I saw this and I wanted to make a watercress pesto. Alas, the watercress sitting in our fridge has already wilted beyond repair. We’ve had it for close to a week because we couldn’t decide what to do with it.
I love arugula and I love arugula pestos!
William Shatner rockin out, huh? Who knew? lmfao Rocket pesto…mmmmmmm…looks fab, Peter. Simply fab.
I like spaghetti with any pesto sauce!! Yours looks so yummy Peter”))
How can you take suce delicious pic of a pasta dish. When i do it is like a blob.
I always make pesto with pine nuts. Will try withwalnuts next time
I kid you not, I had just decided to make some rocket pesto tonight!! Unfortunately not from my garden… rather I think I have a bag of it sitting at the bottom of my fridge…
I usually use pinenuts too – I’ll give the walnuts a whirl!
i love the cadence of william shatner’s speech, so i’m sure i’d enjoy his musical tangent. :)
and of course, this rocket pesto is terrific–i would expect nothing less from you! :)
Shatner’s “musical” career has been a cult success for years. Not something one can listen to regularly, though…
Terrific-looking pesto!
Great entry Peter! You should try the Arugula Pesto on pizza with mozzarella and fresh tomatoes on top. My absolute favorite!!!
Sam, if you’re a fan of bitter greens, one will like this.
Kevin, somehow you manage to try practically every technique and dish out there…that’s awesome.
Maybelle, really? I still prefer the basil pesto was this was refreshing, new.
Elly, you’re always welcome…the Shatner gig is hilarious!
Sandie, do I detect a hint O’ jealousy? Cap’n Kirk, the 2-timing intergalactic man-ho stickin’ his “you know what” across the universe? lol
Aww Marie, he now has a cute wig! lol
Maryann…more of Shatner’s stuff on Youtube…LOL away!
Mary, I got it, get it and enjoy it …it’s so bad it’s good!
JS, watercress would work fine but dump what ya got and buy a new batch…the stuff is cheap.
Nikki, make some rocket pesto and have a romantic soiree, listening to Bill Shatner!
Geia sou Elena, efharisto…ela na sou keraso!
Happy, practice makes perfect and your dishes are just fine.
Kittie, I believe you (recipe stealer)! lol It’s the season for rocket…of course you’d have this on my mind or…you have ESP! ;)
Grace…cadence…word of the day!Thanks for your kinds words…come have a bowl.
Ann, Shatner sounds better after each drink!
Judy, that sounds awesome. If some more arugula grows back…I’ll whip one up!
Interesting… I’ve never heard it referred to as ‘rocket’ before. What kind of foodie am I?
Arugula is a fave of mine. Love it in salads, pasta and especially pizza. I’ll have to whip up some pesto and try it that way too.
last week i made some arugula risotto but this version sounds even more tempting :-) i bet the taste of walnuts and arugulat together is heaven!!
And I think it’s gonna be a long long time… since I had a Pesto Pasta :D
One of our faves – I like mine with walnuts, delish!
Cheers
David
Hi Peter – this looks lovely and delicious! I have stolen a friend’s recipe for walnut-cilantro pesto and now shamelessly pass it off as my own ;) – I’m sure you’ll get credit for this one, at least the first time or two!
And I can pretty much forgive captn Kirk anything . . . .
Funniest 5 minutes 16 seconds I have spent in a while! I am still laughing, so I haven’t had time to digest your recipe, Rocket Man. hahaha
Scrummy pesto Peter! The balsamic vinegar is a nice touch. I must give this a try. I would be very happy if you passed me a plate of this :)
Easy and quick. I love it! The song combo goes good;-)
I love rocket so much it is delicious. Looks great Peter!
Lori, now you know…no worries…it still tastes the same! lol
Dhanngit, walnuts make a good substitute for pine nuts and they’re cheaper too!
Nuria, I’d like to hear YOUR version of Rocket Man, you sing very well!
David, great minds think alike.
Lisa, stealing eh? It’s okay…food is about sharing…at least tell them I helped you make it, k?
Jenn, indeed…no pesticides, super healthy, peppery and delish.
Lori Lynn, LOL…you caught the whole song…it’s a blast!
Holler, just a splash…and your portion will be serve on the Greek side of Cyprus…LASSIE!
Johnna, the pesto is ready before the pasta is.
Jeena, it’s a wonderful green, thanks.
So aside from, YUM!, I have another kind of secondary comment . . . amazing that the shot with the cheese looks even more appetizing than the one sans fromage. I always find that my cheese shots just look awshed out and snowy white. But then again, maybe I’m just using too much cheese . . .
m mm mmm! i always order something like this in restaurants but havent tried orchestrating one at home…adding this to my super long list of future projects
Lia, I hear ya…I think the amount of cheese I grate also buries the dish, so I hold back when taking a photo. I too liked the b4 & after shots.
Oh Rita, it’s easy-peasy…you can do it!
I’ve had arugula pesto once and I think it’s pretty addictive. Actually, pesto = addictive. :)
This looks amazing, Pete, and I never knew Captain Kirk could “sing” :)
That Shatner clip is such a classic. Hehehehe.
Looks great, Peter. I was telling my husband that I must make pesto this weekend. I’ve never tried it, have always wanted to, and yours is one of FOUR I have seen in my blog links this week. It’s the universe telling me to make it. ;)
William Shatner….singing the final frontier..maybe he should just make some of your arugula pesto as he sticks to what he does best…dramatic acting:D Thanks for starting my day off with a smile Peter:D