Lemony Broccoli Pesto Pasta
- Yield 4
- Prep 15 minutes
- Cook 15 minutes
- Total 30 minutes
Lemony Broccoli Pesto Pasta is a pasta recipe on Avoteb. The yield on the card is 4. Plan on 30 minutes from start to plate. The amounts and the method are both on this page.
Ingredients
Yield: 4 servings
- 1 pound uncooked pasta (I used mezze rigatoni)
- 2 1/2 cups (8 ounces) broccoli florets
- 1 cup (1 ounce) fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
- 1 cup (1 ounce) freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds
- 1 large handful (2 ounces) fresh baby spinach
- 2 large cloves garlic
- 1 large lemon, zest and juice
- 1/2 teaspoon each: fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Method
Bring to a boil the water. Raise a large stockpot of generously-salted water to a boil over a hot burner.
Leave the broccoli. Once the water is boiling, add the broccoli and stir to combine. Leave for 3 minutes or until tender. Take a spider strainer or a slotted spoon to move the broccoli to a food processor, leaving the remaining water boiling in the stockpot.
Leave the pasta. Tip in the pasta to the stockpot and cook until *just* al dente. While that cooks, make the pesto while the pasta cooks.
Prepare the pesto. Tip in the basil, Parmesan, pine nuts, spinach, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper to the food processor. Pulse to blend while slowly drizzling in the olive oil until the mixture is smooth. Scoop out ¼ cup of the starchy boiling pasta water and add it to the pesto. Pulse until super-smooth and creamy. (If needed, add extra pasta water to achieve that super-smooth consistency.)
Turn Once the pasta is al dente, scoop out an additional 1/2 cup of the starchy boiling pasta water and set it aside. Strain the pasta and return it to the stockpot. Tip in the broccoli pesto and toss to combine. If the pesto seems at all dry, add in a bit of the starchy water and toss to combine.
Plate Plate warm, garnished with extra Parmesan and a twist of black pepper, and enjoy!
