Thursday, October 20, 2011

Pasta with Broccoli Pesto

fettuccine with broccoli pesto

I got the idea for this from Bork Bork Bork and then Smitten Kitchen's Linguine with Pea Pesto, which I've made in my own lazy way and is very good. Recipe TK, but then I thought I would try making pesto with all my favorite frozen vegetables and now I have to go in alphabetical order with peas at the end.

By the time I get to peas, you will have gotten the gist: frozen vegetables, garlic, nuts, cheese, and olive oil.

1 lb frozen broccoli
2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb pasta

Bring lightly salted water to a boil over high heat in a large saucepan. Add broccoli and cook until tender, about five minutes. Drain.

Put more water on for the pasta.

Put the broccoli, garlic, walnuts, parmesan cheese and nutmeg into a food processor and process until roughly chopped. Drizzle in the olive oil and process until smooth.

Cook the pasta until al dente, about ten minutes. Drain. You may want to reserve a cup or so of the cooking water in case your pesto is very thick.

Return the pasta to the pot and stir in the pesto, thinning it out with reserved water as desired.