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Jun 2011  |  By Laura Hine  |  Comments

Homegrown Food for Your Home Table

Looking for local flavor? “The Chicago Homegrown Cookbook,” by Heather Lalley features recipes from local chefs made with locally grown produce and meats.

From Bleeding Heart Bakery to Terzo Piano, the recipes are divided by season and cover every meal of the day.

Here are two of our favorites from Uncommon Ground. Perfect for using the Arugula now showing up in the farmers’ markets.

Arugula and Walnut Pesto
By Brian Millman of Uncommon Ground
Makes 1 2/3 cups of pesto

• 4 ounces arugula
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup toasted walnuts
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon. black pepper
• 4 ounces oil (1/2 cup)

Combine arugula, garlic, and walnuts in food processor and chop until the arugula is broken down. Add Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper and continue to process until fully incorporated. With food processor running, slowly drizzle in oil until all the oil is added.

Farm Vegetable Pasta Salad with Arugula and Walnut Pesto
By Brian Millman of Uncommon Ground
Makes 3 cups of pasta salad

• 2 cups pasta (your choice of pasta)
• ½-1 cup of Arugula and Walnut Pesto (see above recipe)
• 2 ounces green beans, blanched
• 2 ounces cherry tomatoes
• 2 ounces carrots, sliced
• 2 ounces onions, sliced
• Shredded Parmesan cheese, as needed

Cook pasta and reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Cool pasta completely. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except Parmesan cheese, starting with 1/2 cup of the pesto. The amount of pesto you will need to use will depend on how flavorful the arugula is in the pesto. Taste the pasta salad and determine if you need to add more pesto. If the pesto is too thick and does not coat the pasta, add a small amount of the cooking liquid to thin. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese.