10. Pesto Broccoli Orecchiette

Name: 10. Pesto Broccoli Orecchiette
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Cuisine: European, Italian, Mediterranean
Ingredients: 150g basil leaves, freshly picked, rinsed and dried on paper towel; 150ml olive oil; 75g Parmesan cheese; 30g pine nuts; sea salt; 500g orecchiette pasta; 2 broccoli, cut into florets; 1 lemon, zested and juiced; 1 onion, diced

6 steps

Prep:50minCook:15min

You can cut the prep time of this drastically by just buying commercial pesto. Usually, for 5 servings as below, you may need 2 jars of pesto. Just be careful of the salt levels, as commercial pestos are quite salty.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 09:45:19 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Good

Glycemic Index

Low

Glycemic Load

High

Nutrition per serving

Calories734.7 kcal (37%)

Total Fat39.8 g (57%)

Carbs78.8 g (30%)

Sugars3.5 g (4%)

Protein20.8 g (42%)

Sodium334.4 mg (17%)

Fiber4.4 g (16%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

5 servings

Pesto

150gbasil leaves

freshly picked, rinsed and dried on paper towel

150mlolive oil

75gparmesan cheese

30gpine nuts

sea salt

Pasta

500gorecchiette pasta

Instructions

Pesto

Step 1

Blend garlic and oil in a blender until smooth. Then add pine nuts (if not roasted these can be toasted in a small non-stick fry pan) and blend again until smooth. Add basil and grated parmesan and blend until it’s a pleasing pesto texture. Add sea salt to taste, and more olive oil if needed.

Pasta

Step 2

Cook pasta in salted boiling water for a total of 1 minute less than packet instructions.

Step 3

Meanwhile, fry onion in a further tablespoon of olive oil in a large fry pan until translucent.

Step 4

2 minutes prior to finishing pasta cooking time, add the broccoli florets to the boiling water.

Step 5

Scoop 100ml of pasta water from the pot, and drain pasta and broccoli together.

Step 6

Add the pasta and broccoli to the sautéed onion, and add the pesto and the reserved pasta water and cook together for a further 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice and zest, and combine. Season with plenty of fresh cracked pepper, and serve.