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Broccoli and black walnut pesto

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of broccoli florets + tender stems
  • 2 crushed garlic cloves
  • ½ cup black walnuts
  • 2/3 cup basil (pressed into the cup – a good big handful)
  • 1/3 cup dried spinach (pressed into the cup)
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 lemon – zest and juice (about 2 tbsp of juice)
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. pepper
  • ½ cup grated parmesan or more, to taste
  • Choice of pasta: spaghetti, linguine, fusilli, penne…

Preparation

  1. Steam broccoli until tender but not overcooked. Drain.
  2. In the food processor, mix garlic and walnuts until the walnuts are in small pieces (but not paste consistency). Add basil, spinach and lemon juice until the leaves are finely chopped. Add broccoli and mix.
  3. Add the olive oil, cheese, lemon zest, salt and pepper and mix with a mixer.
  4. Use about ½ cup of pesto for 225 g of pasta. If the texture is too thick, add broccoli cooking water or pasta water or lemon juice.
  5. Garnish the plates with 1 or 2 basil leaves, parmesan shavings and a few black walnuts.

Variations : Add pieces of chicken, small tomato cubes, replace broccoli with asparagus, or spinach with kale, parmesan with pecorino, etc. and let your imagination run wild!
Keeps for 3 days in the refrigerator and can be frozen.