The Little Bag of Arugula That Could

Allow me to introduce you to the black hole.  What is the black hole you ask?  It has nothing to do with the fans of a certain football team.  Oh, no.  The black hole is what I continue to stumble upon in my local grocery stores.  The black hole is the empty space in the produce section between the spinach and romaine, or the macha and the endive, or even the spring mix and the European blend.  The black hole is the empty space on the shelf where arugula is SUPPOSED to be.  After stumbling across this new phenomenon again, on the fifth straight day at multiple stores, I had to take a pic of it.  Look:

Hey, Kansas City, what’s up with the arugula shortage?  I’ve asked the stockers at the stores, and they’ve been friendly and sympathetic, but clueless as to what’s going on.  So, I guess people are just trying a different green to mix in with their salads while on their New Year’s weight loss kicks.  If that’s the case, best of luck to ya!  So, although I drove far and wide as promised, I unfortunately did not come home with four large bags of arugula.  I ran into the black hole over and over again.  I found one bag hiding behind a bag of herb mix, but it’s the same size as what I found on my last trip. 

Since it’s very likely that I may come up empty-handed tomorrow and Saturday on my arugula hunt, I’ve decided to ration out the two rinky sized bags of arugula I have left.  Tomorrow, I’m going to share a recipe for an open faced arugula sandwich on naan. I’m only going to use half a cup of arugula in that dish since I have to use it sparingly.  The naan will be a great vehicle for the arugula.  Tonight, as promised, I remade that cooked down arugula from yesterday.  I used all of one of my small bags for that; I like to call it the little bag of arugula that could.   It's not the prettiest dish in the world, but it sure is tasty.  Below is a pic of what it looked like:

Here's the recipe:

Note:  When I originally made this, I added the chicken as an afterthought.  I’d seared the chicken earlier in the week so I could toss it into salads.  I only put salt, pepper, and garlic on it, and cooked it in a dry nonstick pan on low heat.  It took about 15 minutes to finish because of how low the flame was.  The chicken had a nice crust on the outside and was moist and juicy on the inside.

Smothered Arugula, Mango, and Chicken

Serves 2 as a side, one as an entree.

1 7 ounce bag of arugula

1 tsp canola or corn oil

10 pumps of non caloric margarine spray

2 TBSP chopped dried mango

1 TBSP mascarpone

1 skinless pan seared chicken breast tenderloin cut into chunks

Pinch of garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Place a large, nonstick frying pan on medium-high heat.  When the pan is hot, add the oil and swirl the pan.  When the oil starts to pop, add half of the arugula to the pan (all if it will fit).  With a wooden spoon, toss the arugula in the oil to help wilt the greens.  Add the remaining arugula, spritz with margarine spray, and stir to coat.  Reduce heat to low, cover and allow to cook for 3 minutes.  Stir in dried mango, cover, and cook until arugula stems are tender, about another 5-10 minutes.  Season arugula with a pinch of garlic and salt and pepper to taste.  Place mascarpone on top of arugula, add the chicken to the pan, and cover for a minute.  Stir in the melted mascarpone and serve.

I hope you’ll give this a try.  If you do, let me know what you think!  I’m off to bed.  I need my rest in the event I have to wrestle someone out of a bag of arugula tomorrow.  Just kidding.  J  If you have any suggestions for ingredients that start with “B” please send them my way.  Week two will be here before you know it.  See you tomorrow!