Rucola, rocket ,rugola
 

My trip to Italy revealed a new salad, which they refer to as rocket, I love it any idea why it has caught on hear. I even had a pizza, pizza rughetta. I loooovvee it

arugula

For some bizzare reason this is what they call arugula in Europe. I first hear it refered this way in a cooking class taught by a British woman. Not sure of the origin.

It's very popular in NJ. Until maybe about 10, or at most 15 years ago, I hardly ever saw it where I live. Now it's always avaialble at the farmers market and even in many of the supermarkets. "Rocket" is the English word. It seems to be called "rucola" these days in Italy (or at least in Umbria, where I saw it the most), but I think an older word for it was arugula (maybe that's a dialect word, but I think it's just an older Italian word, no longer in favor), and that's what most people in NJ call it, and that's what I heard it called when I was a child, when it was rarely found. I find it too something, as a vegetable. I use it as something between an herb and a vegetable, i.e. mixed with something else. In Umbria it was a popular pizza flavor. In Assisi there was also a good pasta dish with a little bit of tomato, mushrooms, hot pepper, green olives, and rucola.

I love arugula no matter which name it goes by. My favorite is a bed of fresh arugula, thin slices of grilled steak scattered over it, then big shavings of a good Romano or Parmesan cheese (I use a potato peeler to get the shavings), then a sprinkling of good olive oil over the whole thing. This is the usual presentation of "tagliata" at least in Rome, not necessarily elsewhere. My local grocery often (but not always) has arugula. I just returned from the Pacific Northwest where it appeared on a number of dishes. So I'm not sure why you say it isn't popular here?

Hi Patrick, good to see your post. How are you and how are thing going?

BTW, If you lived where I do you would not be able to buy arugula. If I am wrong I hope someone in the southern end of the Sacramento Valley will enlighten me. So many types of food I can't find that were available in SF/Bay Area.

I love it just about the same way that Patrick does it..I can even skip the steak! I find it every day in my supermarket in the organic section.

try it with hot drained pasta,garlic infused olive oil and tossed with the shredded arugola!

Patrick: I think ONeillChris lives in or near Montreal. Maybe it's not commonly available there, though that would be a little surprising, since in my one visit to Montreal, I was impressed with all the different kinds of food there.

Is arugula a recent addition to your local markets? I don't remember seeing it where I live until relatively recently.

LoveItaly: Why don't you just plant some. I'm sure it would grow. You can get the seeds by mail order if you don't see them on the local seed racks.

We've had it( packaged) in our stores in central FL for at least the last 10 years or more. My favorite restaurant in London always has it as a starter..the maitre told me one of the waiters had a small greenhouse and grew it for them,,that was why it was always available!

Hi cmt, oh my goodness, confession time. I am a fantastic cook, not to brag, but I am. But cmt I guess it would be kind to say I do not have a green thumb. Any plant I try to grow dies. I don't know what the problem is, I wish I did. Soooo, I have finally given up trying to grow anything. And the stupid thing is I come from a family that can grow anything, one grandfather had vineyards, another every vegatable known to man, my mother grew every vegatable you could think of plus fruit trees, my daughter has the most beautiful garden....than there is my father! He didn't know a plant from a weed, LOL. Guess I inherited his ignorance about gardening. And I know, I could go to classes or do lots of reading etc. But I don't. So guess like my father I prefer to let others do it. Bad me!!!

But I do love to cook. Oh btw, love to eat also. Take care.

arugula = rucola = rughetta = rocket

LoveItaly: I have an idea. You could give some rucola seeds to your next-door neighbors as a gift. To be polite, they'll have to plant them. They'll have more than they can possibly eat, so....

We love it too. Here in the boonies part of Texas, if we are very lucky we can get it in Abilene (an hour away) in the organic section. Sometimes it's mixed with baby spinach and carrots. Tonight I fixed that combo and put some Mache (???) in it, because we couldn't get a package of arugula.
In Italy, it was even served as a side dish. It was wonderful!
Jody, I love to cook too! I'm not much of a cleaner upper, but my dh will chop and dice while I cook away. I'm going to try to grow it out here in our desert back yard. I can grow spinach by planting it in the fall and letting it grow until it gets too hot - usually middle of May. So maybe I can grow arugula too.
I loved the ideas of ways to use it. I usually add some pecorino romano which is my favorite cheese this year.
But it's amazing how many people around here have never heard of it. By ANY name!

Hey cmt, how did you know my dear neighbor has the best green thumb you have ever seen??? Have you been spying on our neighborhood, LOL.

Ok, let me ask you something because I live in an apartment since I sold my house. BTW, I did manage to grow wonderful basil,chives etc. there but think it was due to the good weather, didn't have the horrible heat like we do in Vacaville.

Anyway, will arugula grow in pots?
Will arugula grow and florish in real hot weather. Probably, I imagine, as it sure gets hot in Italy.

Anyway cmt, any hints you can give me would be appreciated. Take care.

LoveItaly,

any kind of lettuce doesn't like very hot weather. I makes it bitter, it's best grown as a Spring/Fall crop.

Since the weather here in MA was horrible for so long this year I was able to pick home-grown lettuce until about 6 weeks ago. When it begins to cool again I'll sprinkle a packet of seeds over the veggie bed and hopefully we'll be back to home-grown again, it tastes so good.

My cucumbers are coming along nicely and we've had a good crop of tomatoes. My first year of trying to grow melons, i don't know if I'll be successful but if nothing else the plants look nice.

Hi alya, thanks for your advice. Maybe by the time you Fodorites get done with me I will have a green thumb!
I do love gardens, plants, flowers, vegtables etc but guess with all my years in business and community organizations, family etc. I just never had time to properly get involved in growing plants. Now that I am retired I do find I have an interest.

Have a relaxing and fun Sunday. And I do know what you mean about the weather. Hopefully autumn will be nicer.

I especially love these crazy posts, like the one about pasta. Im curious I have grown up in and around ialians all my life in montreal and even married one...The best move Ive ever made>>>I feel sorry for men without italian wives...haha... Never once did we ever have rocket-arugula-rughetta blalbla is this a new trend. Like buffalo mozzarella, never saw this before italy, I love it but my puritanical wife thinks its too new age italian???

Arugula is readily available in Montreal. Even some supermarkets carry it.

You can get mozzarella di buffala at Milano's on boul. St-Laurent; they fly it in once or twice a week. And it's not a "new" thing; they've been making mozzarella di buffala in Campania for ages.

I thought it must be available in Montreal, so I was really surprised that Oneillchris said he never sees it. Montreal impressed me as having just about "everything," in terms of food.