Easy Eats: Broccoli Pesto Pasta
Broccoli and spinach add nutritional punch to an easy pasta sauce.
Kelly GibneyChef
- prepare
- cook
- 4 servings
- Easy
Caption:Use broccoli to supercharge pesto, along with your favourite and most readily available herbs.Photo credit:Kelly Gibney
Adding lightly cooked broccoli and fresh baby spinach is an easy way to super-charge pesto. I’ve used parsley, as that’s what’s currently in season. Swap this for basil in summer – or use a combination of both.
You may not need to use all the pesto for your pasta, depending on preference. Leftover pesto will last a few days in the fridge in a jar. Pour a thin layer of oil on top to ensure it keeps the bright green colour.
Ingredients
- 1 small head broccoli, cut into florets
- 50g nuts (almonds, walnuts or pistachios)
- 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, packed
- 1 handful baby spinach leaves
- 2 small garlic cloves, sliced
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup finely grated parmesan
- 500g dried spaghetti (or other pasta of choice)
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- Salt and cracked pepper to taste
- Additional grated parmesan, for topping
Instructions
- Place the broccoli florets in a large bowl. Pour over boiling water and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Drain well and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
- Toast the nuts in a dry skillet over a medium heat for 3-5 minutes until fragrant and golden. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente. Set aside 1 cup of the starchy pasta water, then drain.
- Place the parsley, baby spinach, toasted nuts, garlic, olive oil and parmesan into a food processor or blender. Run the machine until a rough pesto starts to form. Add the broccoli and lemon juice along with a ½ cup of pasta water. Blend until smooth-ish. Season generously.
- Combine the pesto sauce with the spaghetti back in the pot. You may not want to use it all. Toss the pasta and sauce well, adding a few tablespoons of pasta water if needed to make the sauce silky.
- Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan on top.
