Avocado Sandwich With Arugula Pesto

I get over zealous about grocery shopping every once in a while and buy more produce than we can consume. Okay, it happens more often than I would like <smh>. I stocked my fridge to its full capacity after getting back from vacation. Using up most perishable items was in order over the weekend.

I made Ghavan on saturday, using chopped spinach instead of zucchini. This is such a great item to sneak in veggies! Make a note, all you moms! The only addition to the recipe was a spoonful of toasted cumin seeds. 

A bag of baby arugula, already yellowing in one corner, was next to finish. Arugula is my all time favorite green. Its distinct peppery flavor pairs well with fruits such as pear, nectarine, or citrus in salads. Fully grown leaves can be a tad bit bitter and pungent, so I purchase the baby ones. They are much milder in comparison. Arugula, actually an herb, makes a great choice for pesto. It seemed like a great way to use up that bag of greens. There were no pine nuts in the pantry, so I settled on using walnuts after reading Elise's recipe. I prefer my pesto with lots of garlic, although I used one less clove for arugula is spicy already. This pesto slathered generously was fantastic in a sandwich. I kept it simple - just avocado for creaminess and tomatoes for a bit of acidity and let pesto take over most of the flavor part.

Avocado Sandwich With Arugula Pesto

Ingredients:
Pesto:
1 Cup packed baby arugula
1/4 Cup walnuts
2 Cloves of garlic
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 Cup olive oil
Salt to taste

Sandwich:
Ripe avocado - sliced
Tomato - sliced
Multi-grain bread.

• Add all the ingredients to the food processor, except olive oil. 
• Grind everything coarsely, adding oil little by little. 
• Smear pesto on two slices of multi-grain bread. My favorite multi-grain from the local grocery store has all sorts of seeds sprinkled on them - sesame, sunflower etc. Add sliced avocados and tomatoes and grill until crispy. You can even add roasted red bell peppers to this sandwich.

The sandwich is extremely simple to make yet fancy enough that you'd order it in a fine Deli. We enjoyed it with savory banana chips on the side - our latest addiction!


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On a different note - Husband recently discovered vinyl photography backdrops online. These vinyl sheets come in all sorts of wooden finish looks and are perfect to take food photos. Not that I take any effort in shooting my food, but husband has been pushing me to do better. Getting these vinyl backdrops is the first step. If you are looking for something like this, just google and you'll find plenty of sites out there selling this stuff. Mine came from Swanky Prints right here in Temecula. They are quite fabulous!