CSA experiment #5: Three Ways with Arugula, or How to serve your husband (and yourself) 2 whole bunches of arugula at one sitting and remain married

So, I got sort of behind on cooking the CSA veggies...to the point that I had *3* bunches of arugula in the fridge yesterday, one of which was dangerously close to becoming compost heap feed. Yesterday, I aimed to use as much arugula as possible for dinner. I had already planned to grill some tuna steaks, so that part of the meal was pretty much set. With the help of my trusty Culinary Artistry, I made a tasty, and relatively light, 3-course meal that used up 2 full bunches! And that the grudging vegetable-eater I'm married to enjoyed as well.

Happily, there were no salad greens in this week's share, so I think we will conquer the mountain of arugula within a couple of days. :)

First course:

Rocket* Salad with sliced avocado, dried cranberries and sliced almonds

Avocado Vinaigrette

1/8 avocado, mashed
1 T olive oil
1-2 t. white wine vinegar
1-2 t. water
touch of lemon juice
salt & pepper

Mix well, toss with salad ingredients. Serves 2.

* arugula...but rocket sounds more fun (and less like arugula)

Second course:

Lemon Arugula Soup

1 bunch arugula, washed, destemmed and chopped roughly (this is where I used the stuff that was already a bit wilty)
1 shallot, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c vegetable broth
1 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice, divided
1 c milk
salt & pepper

Heat oil over medium heat, saute shallot and garlic until soft. Add arugula and a little salt and saute until wilted. Add broth, bring to a simmer; simmer for ~7 or 8 minutes. Add 1 T lemon juice. Simmer for 1 minute more. Turn off heat. Puree with immersion blender in pot or in blender/food processor in batches. If you want it really smooth, this is where you would strain it, but for every day, I don't see a point. Return to pot on med-low heat. Slowly stir in milk and season with salt, pepper and remaining lemon juice. Serve ASAP...careful not to let soup get hot enough to simmer or the milk might break. Serves 2.

Third course:

Grilled Yellow Fin with Thyme Butter, served over arugula and mashed potatoes

A big spoonful of your standard mashed potatoes: a couple potatoes scrubbed, boiled for 25 minutes and mashed with milk, butter, salt and pepper

Topped with a bed of fresh arugula leaves,

The fish,

Preheat grill to 500-550 degrees & clean grates.

2 yellow fin tuna steaks, fresh or thawed

Coat with olive oil and sprinkle all sides with salt and pepper. Grill for about 3 minutes per side.

and the herb butter.

1 T unsalted butter, room temperature
2 t fresh thyme, chopped fine
salt & pepper

Mash together; put half on top of each tuna steak.

Hopefully I'll remember to add the photo of this when I can, but I've been so bad about posting, I thought it best to get the menu out there while the getting was good. :)