Pesto Pinwheel Rolls Made With Arugula and Walnut Pesto

To make the arugula and walnut pesto:

Place a heavy-bottomed skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Once the pan is heated, add the walnuts and toast them. Make sure to shake the pan frequently to prevent scorching and continue until the nuts are shiny and fragrant. When they reach this point, immediately turn them out of the pan into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade.

Add the garlic and arugula leaves into the food processor bowl as well. Fix the lid in place and turn on the food processor. With the machine running, drizzle the olive oil into the feed tube until the mixture reaches your desired consistency.

Scrape the pesto into a bowl and stir in the grated cheese. Then taste it and add salt and pepper to your liking.

Store the pesto tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.

To make the Pesto Pinwheel Rolls:

Use non-stick cooking spray or brush olive oil into four 8-inch round cake pans or two 12-cup muffin tins. Set them aside.

For the bread dough, see my TastyKitchen recipe box for my Braided Sesame Semolina Bread recipe. Prepare the dough as directed.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the prepared dough into a rectangle that is about 24-inches by 18-inches. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the pesto over the surface of the bread dough, leaving about an inch of one long edge of the rectangle clean.

Gently but firmly start to roll the dough, beginning at the long edge that is spread with pesto. You are rolling it jelly-roll style, until you reach the clean edge. Then pinch the dough together at the seam. It may not hold together completely, but that is okay. Lay the tube seam side down on your work surface. First cut it in half, then cut each half into 12 equally sized rounds. Put them into the prepared pans (6 rolls in each cake pan or 1 roll in each cup of the muffin tins.)

Lightly cover the pans with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until slightly puffy looking (about 30 minutes.)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 18-24 minutes, or until completely set and rich golden brown. Allow the rolls to cool in the pans for 5 minutes before turning them out onto a rack. They can be eaten warm or cooled and stored at room temperature for 3 days in a tightly covered container.