Arugula is spicy! It's one of my favorite lettuces to make salads with. I like adding toasted nuts, cheeses and sometimes fruits and berries to arugula for great salads.
I prefer an emulsified vinaigrette with honey, olive oil, mustard, lemon & herbs... these days I use a little mayonnaise instead of raw egg yolk for the emulsion.
Arrugula Salad with Pine Nuts
Spring is my favorite time to garden. After a long winter, it’s incredibly satisfying to watch spring lettuces flourish in my cold frames and greenhouse. This is when I direct-sow arugula, spinach, chard, peas, and other cool-season crops into the soil. Once spring truly arrives, dandelion and purslane begin popping up wild—welcome reminders that the garden is waking up.
Arugula is a nutrient-dense leafy green known for its peppery flavor and impressive health benefits. It’s rich in vitamins A, C, and K, and provides antioxidants.
I grow a wide range of lettuces and have started documenting how their flavors shift with temperature and terroir—whether grown directly in the ground, in raised beds, or under solar panels.
Prep Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 0 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients Dressing
1 Tbsp Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Honey
1/2 Tbsp Grain Mustard
6 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice or Cider Vinegar
t.t. Kosher Salt
t.t. Black Pepper, freshly ground
4 Cups. Arugula rinsed and spun dry
t.t. Kosher Salt
t.t. Black Pepper, freshly ground
2 Tbsp Pine nuts, toasted
tt Cheese, grated (Pecorino, Romano, Parmigiano etc.._
How to Prepare the Salad
Step 1
Wash the arugula in cold water several times, being sure to pick out yellow or old leaves, strain.
Step 2
Put the mayonnaise, honey and mustard in a bowl, slowly whisk the oil into the honey- mustard, creating an emulsion. Add the lemon and seasonings while continuing to whisk.
Step 3
Toss the arugula in the dressing, add half of the toasted pine nuts and cheese and toss-season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place onto a plate and garnish with the remaining pine nuts and cheese.
