Rocket Salad / Arugula / Italian Cress (eruca sativa) is a quick growing annual with ‘nutty’, cress-like flavor. -Rocket or arugula is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae used as a leaf vegetable for its fresh, tart, bitter, and peppery flavor. It can be used raw in salad, pizza and pasta giving the dish a strong, peppery flavor.