Spicy Arugula and Pecan Pesto

I had an urge for some pasta with pesto the other night but was out of my usual standby ingredients.  I had to improvise and I was pleasantly surprised by the result.  Spicy arugula and sweet mellow pecans strike a balance and make the perfect pesto for pasta, sandwiches or whatever you would normally use pesto for.  You can vary the amount of any of these ingredients to custom tailor this pesto.  For instance, I love garlic so I used five cloves but you may think that's over the top.  Three would work just fine too!  Same thing goes for everything in this "recipe".  Taste as you go and make it work for you.

Spicy Arugula Pecan Pesto
This makes enough for leftovers.  Pesto freezes well, if it lasts that long...

Ingredients:
5 cloves garlic
1 cup whole raw pecans
1 1/4 cups parmesan cheese (a better cheese will improve the quality of your pesto)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
5 to 8 large handfuls of arugula
olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, whichever you prefer

Directions:

Place the garlic in your food processor and pulse until chopped.  Add pecans, parmesan cheese and salt.  Pulse until combined.  

Yep. That is a cup of dunkin donuts coffee in the background. 

Add your first bunch of arugula and pulse until you can add your next fistful.  Keep doing this until your content with the amount of arugula you have.  You can taste it at this point to see what, if anything, you would like to add. 

Add olive oil in a drizzle fashion while food processor is running and keep going until it reaches the desired consistency.  

Add to hot pasta with grilled chicken or meatballs or to a grilled flatbread portobello and roasted red pepper sandwich.  Endless possibilities!