Rocket - Healthy Recipes And More

arugula

For a long time arugula had been forgotten. Today it is a popular decorative and tasty ingredient in summer salads and light pasta dishes. It is well known for its use in Italian pesto, the herb flavoring paste for pasta. Rocket goes well with meat, fish and vegetable dishes. A distinction is made between two different types: the salad ruscola and the wild ruscola, also known as rusks. The mustard oils (glucosinolates) responsible for the slightly pungent taste are among the secondary plant substances…

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• Botany
• ingredients
• Use and preparation
• storage

Botany

Rocket is a member of the Brassicaceae (cruciferous) family. Its close relationship to the cabbage family is evident from its slightly pungent taste. Rocket comes from Italy and France. A distinction is made between two botanical types: Salad rucola (Eruca sativa), also known under the name Salad rocket, large-leaved rocket, oil rocket or mustard cabbage, it can be recognized by its rounded, slightly wavy leaf edges and its milder cress- to nut-like taste. The leaves of the rocket are reminiscent of those of the dandelion - they can be up to 15 centimeters long. The wild rocket(Diplotaxis tenuifolia), also known as arugula or fine-leaved rocket, has a strongly serrated pinnate leaf shape. Its leaves have a higher content of mustard oils (glucosinolates), which gives it a sharp, spicy to peppery taste.

Home-grown rocket is available from around February to November.

ingredients

Rocket has many valuable ingredients and is a good source of iron, calcium and potassium, vitamin C and vitamin A. The mustard oils (glucosinolates) responsible for the slightly pungent taste are among the secondary plant substances. They have many health benefits, including being antioxidant and anti-cancer. For more information, see Phytochemicals and their effects.

Rocket stores nitrates that occur naturally in the soil or that enter the environment via fertilizers. These can be converted into nitrosamines in the body and are harmful to health. When consuming arugula in normal quantities, exposure to nitrate does not pose a health risk. The simultaneous presence of vitamin C can inhibit the conversion into nitrosamines.

Rocket Ingredients	per 100 g edible portion, raw	Rocket Ingredients	per 100 g edible portion, raw
Energy (kcal)	24	Iron (mg)	1.5
Fat (g)	0.7	Vitamin A (µg)	233
Protein (g)	2.6	Vitamin B1 (mg)	0.04
Carbohydrates (g)	2.1	Vitamin B2 (mg)	0.09
Dietary fiber (g)	1.6	Niacin (mg)	0.3
Potassium (mg)	369	Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.07
Calcium (mg)	160	Vitamin C (mg)	35
Magnesium (mg)	13	Vitamin E (mg)	0.6

Use and preparation

Arugula should be washed thoroughly under running water. Long petioles can be plucked off with your fingers. Due to its intense taste, arugula is very suitable as a culinary herb and seasoning herb. It is well known for its use in Italian pesto, the herb flavoring paste for pasta. Rucola goes well with meat, fish and vegetable dishes. It is often mixed with other salads. Its slightly hot and spicy aroma gives many dishes that certain pizzazz, also visually.

Rocket can be eaten raw or cooked. When heated, it loses its sharpness and aroma. When steamed for a short time, rocket is ideal as a side dish with meat or fish.

Note Rocket seeds are also suitable for consumption and, like mustard seeds, can also be used for seasoning.

storage

When shopping, look for dark green leaves - this is an indication of freshness. Under no circumstances should brown spots or withered leaves be visible. Rocket should be eaten fresh as possible. The leaves wilt very quickly. Wrapped in a slightly damp paper towel or in a freezer bag, it can be kept in the vegetable drawer in the refrigerator for up to two days.