Broccoli Pesto With Walnuts

New Year resolutions are cliché. But as is the norm or tradition, we make all sorts of promises to ourselves, one of them being: to eat more veg. I will be blatantly honest with you and confess that: I do not make New Year’s resolutions anymore! But how dare I? Why don’t I? And what do broccoli pesto and walnuts have to do with it?

Well, I don’t make resolutions because I believe change should be an ongoing thing not conditioned to the future which is not guaranteed to me. If weight gain or more time off the phone is something I want to improve on, then the ‘new year’ starts from the moment of whichever day or time it is that I decide to make a change. So, what’s with the broccoli pesto and walnuts?

Well, many of us have an unquenchable relationship with pasta. I think it is one of the foods that we crave or just feel crazy sad about not being able to have when trying to cut down for whatever reasons. But vegetables are food groups that we should eat more of. And I am trying to incorporate as much as I can into our daily meals at home. And with that let me share this easy vegetable pasta sauce recipe.

I was inspired to make this pasta sauce recipe because I had leftover broccoli after making the sautéed broccoli with lemon and garlic for my girls. And thought this broccoli pesto would be something interesting and different to share with you. Plus it is a recipe I hope will make eating pasta a little less daunting.

This pasta sauce recipe is not low on calories due to the oil content and walnuts. So when preparing it for pasta, you can maintain olive oil’s nutritional value by not heating it. However, I will admit to putting my broccoli pesto on the stove, in an already hot pan to avoid it staying too long on the heat. So not more than a minute.

A little side note before we go any further: I am not a nutritionist so this broccoli pesto is just my way of trying to add more veg and healthy fats into my diet. I do understand and acknowledge that this recipe is not suitable for all 🙂 Still interested?

Here’s How to Make Broccoli Pesto With Walnuts.

I used a pestle and mortar to make this but you can use a food processor. Or just have fun with it and use the bottom of a wine bottle to crush the walnuts which aren’t so hard. Then use a spatula to just stir in the oil, cheese, and finely chopped broccoli florets.

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Print Recipe

Broccoli pesto with walnuts

(+15 rating, 3 votes)

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Lunch/Dinner – International

By Angela – Serves: 2

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 10 minutes – Total Time: 20 minutes

Pesto made with walnuts, broccoli, and cheese.

Ingredients

• 88g broccoli florets
• 4 leaves of basil
• Salt to taste
• 26g/9 (1/2 cup) whole walnuts
• 4 tbsp (48g) olive oil
• 35g (1/2) cup grated Grana Padano
• 1 tbsp (8g) grated Pecorino Romano

Instructions

1

Boil the broccoli florets for 10 minutes uncovered over high heat.

2

Stack the basil leaves over each other and roll into a cigar then thinly slice. Put them in a mortar with a pinch of coarse salt and grind to a paste.

3

Roughly chop the walnuts, then put them in the mortar and grind. Add the oil and stir using the pestle.

4

Sprinkle in the Grana Padano and pecorino cheese and stir using a spoon or spatula.

5

Transfer the boiled broccoli onto a chopping board and finely chop, if you prefer you can leave a few lumps.

6

Then tip the broccoli into the walnut mixture and stir through. Taste for salt and add more if need be.

7

Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.