Arugula Salad. Let’s talk about arugula.

Arugula, either you love it or you…don’t love it. I am in the love it category and to date, I haven’t felt the need to evangelize it’s merits.

I just read a book called “Eating on the Wild Side” by Jo Robinson. A book review is beyond the scope of this blog. But, encouraging CSA members to try some food outside of their comfort zone, like arugula, that I have learned is rich in cancer-fighting compounds glucosinolates and high in antioxidant activity is not.

I often hear how people don’t like the peppery bite or bitterness of arugula. Let me show you how to tame arugula a little with a very simple preparation. Olive oil, lemon and Parmesan cheese. The fat in the oil and the cheese tame the heat and the bitterness of the arugula. Also, tearing the arugula bruises the leaf a little and that tones the sharpness of the greens as well. The lemon’s tartness detracts your taste buds from the bitterness too and the salt adds a brightness as well.

Ingredients
1 bag of arugula, washed, dried, and torn into small bite size pieces.
a good glug of extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A chunk of Parmesan
Directions
In a serving bowl, drizzle the arugula with the oil, squeeze in the lemon juice, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss with your hands, make sure all of the leaf is covered and taste for seasoning. Use a vegetable peeler to shave thin pieces of Parmesan over the top.

If you don’t have Parmesan use any cheese. You can add anything from here, fruit, dried or fresh. Nuts are great and again help tone down the sharpness of the arugula and add protein-win!

In these pictures I am trying to show you the small amount of oil and lemon you need to dress the greens. The first is arugula torn into small pieces with oil, lemon, salt and pepper. The second is mixed. It is a very light dressing but takes the edge off the peppery bite.

Dress Arugula Arugula