arugula Archives - The Midnight Baker

Chicken In Arugula (Rocket) Cream Sauce

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 14 Apr 2018 23:00:16 +0000

If you love arugula (rocket), then you’ll love this chicken skillet dinner.

Do You Love Arugula?

I do! There’s just something about it’s earthy and peppery taste that appeals to me, It’s a very popular green. In the UK, it’s also known as rocket.

Lately I’ve been buying arugula quite a bit and was looking for different ways to use it other than in salads.

Recently, I tried it in bracciole and it was wonderful!

Good Substitute For Spinach?

Since I was trying to think out of the box, I wondered if arugula would be a good substitute for spinach in some recipes.

Figuring that it had more taste and more body, it just may work. So I decided I’d try a hack of my creamy basil garlic chicken with spinach. I kept the sauce pretty simple since I didn’t know how the arugula would be combined with common herbs. When I tasted the sauce, it needed something else in it for more flavor, so what I did was add a pinch of dried oregano into the mix. Oregano (to my taste) isn’t as powerful as an equal amount to basil or thyme. You could also substitute marjoram if you have it on hand as it’s a bit milder than oregano. However, more folks have oregano in their pantry than marjoram so that’s why I specified it in the recipe.

But if your tastes run different to mine, add any herb you like to the sauce, but taste first before adding or spoon out a small amount of sauce and put a leaf or two of that herb in to see how it tastes. That way you won’t ruin the whole meal if your choice wasn’t good.

Chicken Tenders Are Best

But they are pricy. My store had them buy-one-get-one which made them a good deal. I find they don’t dry out like regular breast, but again that’s a personal taste.

If you have boneless skinless breasts on hand, then by all means use them!!! I’d never buy something which was expensive if I could substitute what I had on hand. Neither should you!

The Recipe

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Chicken In Arugula (Rocket) Cream Sauce

If you love arugula (rocket), this easy chicken skillet dinner recipe is going to become a favorite!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: arugula, chicken recipe, chicken tenders, rocket, skillet dinner

Servings: 4

Calories: 450kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 lb chicken tenders or boneless skinless breast cut in thick strips
Seasoned flour recipe below
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
3 cups roughly chopped arugula see NOTES
4 tbs flour
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup half-and-half or light cream
4 tbs grated Parmesan cheese or Romano

Seasoned flour:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

Mix seasoned flour ingredients in a plastic bag. Add chicken and shake to coat.
Heat a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and the butter.
Brown chicken tenders on both sides; about 5 minutes each side. Remove chicken and keep warm.
In the same pan, add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes or until garlic is fragrant and mushrooms begin to brown. Sprinkle the 4 tbs of flour over the mushrooms and stir to incorporate.
Slowly add the white wine, scraping up all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan, stirring so there are no lumps. Add the oregano. Pour in the chicken stock and stir until it thickens. Add the arugula. Taste and add any additional salt and pepper to taste.
Add the cream and the grated cheese. Place the chicken back in the pan and heat through.

Notes

You can substitute spinach or kale

Nutrition

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Chicken with Warm Arugula & Radicchio Vinaigrette

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 23:00:36 +0000

Here’s a simple chicken dinner that’s ready in less than 30 minutes.

Stunningly Simple

If you want a dinner that’s on the table within 30 minutes and one that’s healthy too, then this is it.

I recently took an online course called, “Rediscovering the Lost Art of Cooking.” One of the dishes the chef instructor prepared was this chicken. It looked so good and easy, I just had to do it for myself.

I highly recommend this course. I have been really BLAH about cooking lately and I have to say, this inspired me to get back into the kitchen again and get creative.

Leftover Greens

The chef instructor said to use up any salad greens you have in the fridge, but he demonstrated this with arugula, radicchio and Belgian endive. I love arugula and will look for any excuse to eat it, but I’ve never tried radicchio nor Belgian endive. This was a perfect opportunity to do just that.

Tomatoes are a must in this salad. I used cherry and grape tomatoes and I included orange and yellow varieties so the meal would be more colorful. Now that summer home-grown tomato crops are ready to harvest, these work perfectly here. Home-grown tomatoes have such wonderful flavor, so forgoing color variety for taste is way better.

Tasty Dressing

The vinaigrette dressing is made in the same skillet the chicken was cooked in.

The dressing is simple yet tasty. It gets a lot of flavor from the browned bits (called “fond”) that remain in the skillet after you saute the chicken. All you do is deglaze the pan with a bit of chicken stock then reduce that down till all that’s left is about a tablespoon or two. Then it’s just preparing a standard vinaigrette dressing which is 1 part acid to 2-3 parts oil.

The Recipe

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Chicken with Warm Arugula & Radicchio Vinaigrette

Here’s a simple chicken dinner that’s ready in less than 30 minutes.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Brunch, Chicken, Everyday Meals, lunch, salads

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 30-minute meals, arugula, chicken

Servings: 2

Calories: 617kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 medium chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 small head of radicchio torn into pieces
2 cups arugula1 small Belgian endive torn into pieces
1 cup grape tomatoes of varying colors cut in half (see NOTES)
Dressing:
1/2 cup chicken stock
juice of 1/2 a large lemon
3-4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Instructions

Using a meat mallet, pound chicken down to a uniform thickness of about 1/4-inch. Season each side with a bit of salt and coarsely ground pepper.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 2 tbs of olive oil and when the oil shimmers, place chicken in the pan.
Brown well on both sides. Remove chicken and keep warm.
To make dressing, deglaze the pan with the 1/2 cup of chicken stock, making sure to scrape up all the browned bits. Turn heat to medium-high and reduce until there's about 2 tbs of liquid in the pan.
Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Then whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil. Add any additional salt and pepper at this time. Also if you want a tangier dressing, feel free to add a few drops more of lemon juice. If you find the dressing too tart, stir in a pinch or two of sugar.
In a large bowl, mix the salad ingredients. Add about 2 tbs of the warm dressing and toss to coat.
Divide salad onto 2 plates and place chicken on top of salad. Drizzle remaining dressing over each plate.

Notes

Home-grown tomatoes are an excellent substitute.

Recipe is easily doubled or tripled.

Nutrition

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Linguine with Toasted Pecan Arugula Pesto

Judith Hannemann — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:00:00 +0000

Linguine with Toasted Pecan Arugula Pasta

A really different pesto and pasta dish! Great nutty flavor and a bold arugula-based pesto!

Now this meal may sound fancy–but trust me, it’s not!

The pesto departs from using the usual basil and uses arugula, or rocket to my UK readers. Arugula has such an earthy flavor, it adds so much to this meal. Follow the link in the ingredients for the pesto recipe.

Excellent light meal

Of course that’s just my opinion because it’s my green of choice in a salad because it has real flavor–unlike most lettuces!

Pecans add flavor

It’s important with this to reserve some of the pasta water. The pesto tends to be a bit firm and slightly dry–which makes it an excellent keeper, so you’ll have to add some water back in when you mix the pesto with the pasta.

Tons of flavor in every bite

I only had to mix about 1/4 cup in to get it to a nice smooth consistency for my tastes, but I do recommend reserving at least 1/2 cup. It’s easily discarded if you don’t use it.

Nice enough for company, but very easy

This is a near perfect meal for when you want something filling, but don’t want meat. The toasted pecans–in the pesto and added on top of the pasta–give this a marvelous depth of flavor.

The whole meal is very easy to prepare and it’s good enough and just that little bit fancy to serve to guests!

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Linguine with Toasted Pecan Arugula Pesto

A really different pesto and pasta dish! Great nutty flavor and a bold arugula-based pesto!

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Everyday Meals, pasta, vegetarian dishes

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: arugula, Linguine, pasta, Pesto

Servings: 4

Calories: 253kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

8 oz linguine uncooked
1 recipe Arugula Pesto
1/4 cup finely chopped toasted pecans
1/2 cup + pasta water

Instructions

Cook linguine as per package directions. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining.
Toss the hot pasta with the entire amount of the arugula pesto. Add only enough of the reserved pasta water so that the mixture is not dry–the amount you add will vary as to what consistency pleases your taste.
Top with the chopped pecans.

Notes

recipe Arugula Pesto

Nutrition

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Arugula Pesto

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 23:00:00 +0000

Arugula Pesto

A delicious but different pesto–made with toasted pecans and arugula!

I’m not really a lover of original pesto–I like basil, but too much tastes medicine-y to me.

I hit on something I thought I’d like in an old Food Network magazine I had out on my porch–a pesto made with arugula.

Rich flavor

When I made it up, I found it dry and not too much taste besides the arugula, but then I found a dish on Epicurious that had more bold flavors so I tried that. Again, I found it a little dry and not cheesy enough, but the base taste was excellent, so I adapted it slightly.

Fight the urge to skip the step of making the paste with the garlic and salt. I think this is what gives it the great flavor it has. I use a mortar and pestle for this, but you don’t need one. A heavy-bladed knife (like a large chef knife or a cleaver) will do. Just mince up the garlic, sprinkle the salt on top and mash, mash, mash with the side of the knife.

Perfect on pasta

Excellent in pasta and spread on chicken or any meat to be grilled.

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Arugula Pesto

Delicious pesto made with arugula

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Pesto

Servings: 2 1/2 cup servings

Calories: 711kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

5 oz box of baby arugula
1 large garlic clove
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
9 tbs olive oil
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup toasted pecans

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mash garlic with the 1/2 tsp of salt to form a paste–you can do this with a mortar & pestle or by using the side of a wide heavy knife.
Toast pecans by placing them in a 350 degree F oven for about 4 minutes.
Place the arugula, cheese, olive oil, pepper, mashed garlic and toasted pecans in a food processor.
Process for about 1 minute.

Video

See post for video (if there is one)

Nutrition

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