Apparently arugula has a recent history of being used as some sort of political/cultural put down, as though it’s some super fancy vegetable. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a green that has a real flavor to it, getting spicy as it matures.
As a plant it thrives on abuse and self propagates. I very rarely plant arugula – it self seeds and is one of the first things to come up in my garden. It does well in the hot summer months when other greens have wilted away, and withstands the first few frost of the fall. It is the first and last thing in my garden every year. From a gardeners perspective it is great green that thrives on abuse and is usable throughout the growing season.
For cooking it is incredibly versatile, working well with many ingredients as both a green and an herb. Most arugula you find in stores is young baby arugula. This is a great green to use in salads, with more flavor than most lettuces and just a little spiciness. As it matures it becomes tougher and should be used more like chard or spinach than lettuce. It also becomes more spicy and not as bitter as lettuces. Raw and finely chopped it makes an excellent herb. It can be used as a spicy replacement for parsley and makes a great chimichurri and is a nice addition to Bloody Marys. Cooking it softens it up, and it does well with roasting or a quick char on the grill. Removing the tough stems and just using the sides of the leaves helps too.
So plant some arugula and forget it! It thrives in sun or shade and can be eaten all season long, it’s a true survivor.
Preparation methods
When young, arugula can be used raw as you would use lettuce. As it matures the stems become tough. To remove the stems run a knife along each side of the stem and discard it. You can also just pull the softer leaf portion off the stem. It can also be sauteed like spinach, or placed on the grill for 5-10 seconds to wilt it.
Matching ingredients
Arugula goes well with anything other bitter greens work with. Traditional salad ingredients such as garlic, olive oil, vinegar, lemon, and onions.
Example recipes
Basic summer salad – Arugula, cucumber, tomatoes, and red onion with a basic garlic vinaigrette and feta cheese.
Arugula chimichurri – Partially (or fully) replace the parsley in any chimichurri recipe with the leafy parts of mature arugula. Older arugula has a noticeable woody spiciness that works very well with chimichurri.
Arugula flowers!
Arugula flowers are edible and add a little bit of spiciness to a meal. If you let your arugula go to seed you’ll have plenty of flowers to use on any dish.
