Vibrant green basil pesto is such a versatile sauce. It is big on flavor; a little goes a long way. When basil is abundant in our garden, I’ll make a large batch of pesto and freeze it in small containers to use in the upcoming months.
Pesto is delicious tossed with all shapes of pasta. Long and thin, short spirally and twisty pastas are all so good with pesto. I used Mafaldine which is a long ribbon-shaped pasta. But pesto is not limited to only pasta. It’s a tasty addition to pizza, sandwiches, salad dressings, potatoes, chicken and pork loin to name a few.
These days I use cashews or macadamia nuts instead of pine nuts. This is due to an unfortunate pine nut syndrome experience I had some years ago. Everything, including water tasted extremely bitter and metallic. This lasted for 10 days. Ugh!!! I made a promise to myself never to eat a pine nut again and I’m sticking to it.
On another note, I now blanch my basil before proceeding with my pesto recipe. I was always disappointed with the pesto oxidizing when mixed with the pasta. The bright green color turned into a murky greenish-brownish color that looked unappealing. Blanching the basil for just 5 seconds does the trick. This little step deactivates the enzyme that causes the leaves to oxidize and leaves you with beautiful green pesto.
Like spinach, basil leaves shrivel when blanched. Don’t despair. The basil still has that herby aromatic flavor and a gorgeous emerald green color.
The combination of herby pesto and steamed broccoli pair very well together. It’s one of my favorite ways to incorporate more nutrition as well as texture and flavor to this pasta dish.
Pesto broccoli pasta is an easy dish to make. If you don’t have time to make your own pesto, use your favorite store-bought brand. You’ll have a beautiful dish to bring to the table in no time at all.
My favorite way to use leftover pesto broccoli pasta is as a frittata. It becomes a quick and tasty breakfast or lunch. I mix some eggs in a bowl then add the leftover pasta. This mixture is cooked in a skillet over medium-low heat and flipped once before serving it as is, or on good crusty pan-fried sourdough bread with arugula. It is utterly delicious.
Pesto Broccoli Pasta
4
Ingredients
- Pesto
4 cups basil leaves, gently packed (about 3 ounces)
1/3 cup raw or roasted unsalted cashews (or substitute with macadamia nuts)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
2 tablespoons Pecorino, finely grated (or substitute with Parmigiano Reggiano)
- Broccoli
10-12 ounces broccoli florets, cut into equal sized pieces and steamed until very fork tender
8 ounces pasta such as spaghetti, fusilli, mafaldine, bow ties
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano for serving
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath for the basil.
- Once the water is boiling, blanch basil for 5 seconds. Immediately remove basil (reserve pot with water for pasta) and transfer to the ice bath (spider strainer or small metal sieve works well). Transfer cooled basil to a sieve to drain. Squeeze out excess water with clean hands. Set aside.
- Place cashews or nuts of your choice in a food processor. Pulse a few times until nuts are finely chopped. Add basil, garlic and salt. Pulse until basil is finely chopped. Pour half of the olive oil into the food processor and pulse a few times. Continue adding olive until you reach your desired consistency. If you prefer a thinner pesto add more oil. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt if needed. Transfer pesto to a bowl and stir in the cheese.
- Using the reserved pot of water, cook pasta according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, steam broccoli florets until very fork tender. Remove to a large plate and chop into bite sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Transfer cooked pasta to a large serving bowl. Mix in 1/2 cup of pesto stirring well. Add more pesto if needed. Toss broccoli with pesto pasta. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese and serve. Leftover pesto can be frozen for a few months.
Notes
- Leftover pesto can be frozen in small containers for a few months.
