Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Arugula and Walnut Cake



I was browsing Elana's Pantry the other day and came across this recipe for a spinach and pine nut cake: http://www.elanaspantry.com/cooked-veggies/community-supported-spinach-cake/ I thought it looked pretty fab so I set out to make my own using slightly different ingredients. Here is my result.

ARUGULA AND WALNUT CAKE

makes 9 squares

ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds arugula, thoroughly washed, very roughly chopped
1 cup walnuts, chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, whisked
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Wilt arugula in a large covered saucepan, over low heat (do not add water), until tender.
2. Drain and cool, then gently squeeze moisture out of the arugula. Really, get all the moisture out you possibly can. I think this is the most important step.
3. Place arugula in food processor and pulse until coarsely blended, then set aside.
4. In a small skillet, warm 3 tablespoons oil, add walnuts and saute until golden brown.
5. Add garlic to pan of walnuts and saute together an additional minute.
6. In a large bowl, combine walnut mixture, blended arugula, eggs, raisins and salt.
7. Spread mixture in a very thin layer into a greased 7 x 11 inch pyrex baking dish.
8. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes.
9. Cut into 9 squares and serve.

I was home alone when I made these and I ate half the pan by myself right away they were so good! The raisins make them very sweet, so I think if I made it again I might reduce the raisins to 1/4 or 1/3 cup. This was great as a side dish with some steak. It was also good room temperature the next day for breakfast alongside some fried eggs.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This looks amazing! It's beautiful, healthy and it looks very flavorful.

Anonymous said...

That looks mighty tasty!

The SoG

Mark said...

We made this last night. It was excellent - we served it with parchment paper chilean sea bass cooked with zucchini, summer squash, and mushrooms - I should have taken a picture b/c it was beautiful (and remarkabley tastey).

Thanks for another great one.

Elizabeth said...

Jenny - Thanks!

SoG - Thanks, it was!

Jumpow - I'm so glad you made the recipe and liked it! Sounds like a perfect side dish for your fish.

Kimberly Anne said...

Hi Elizabeth, thanks for trying Sandia restaurant, wasn't it FAB??

My husband has gone there for lunch at least a half a dozen times without me! We love their food, it is super.

I want to study your blog more, cuz I don't know much about the Paleo diet, although I have heard about it lots. I see other bloggers on realfoodmedia.com blogging about it, but I have yet to delve into the subject.

This recipe looks awesome, I will try this one soon!

Kimberly
Hartkeisonline.com
a realfoodmedia.com blogger