Receta Vegan Broccoli Pesto Pasta
Vegan Broccoli Pesto Pasta
Two things come to mind as this very behind the ball blogger writes:
1. Does anyone besides me continually forget whether broccoli has two C s or two L s?
I'm kind of a neurotic speller. I know how to spell a lot of things and unless I'm being lazy, things are usually spelled correctly. But I can't for the life of me ever remember. I'm hoping by posting this it will be forever ingrained in my brain.
2. Nothing. And I mean nothing sounds good to me lately. Nothing sounds good to eat and nothing sounds good to cook.
It's gotten so bad recently that Honey has taken over the kitchen. Two. Days. In. A. Row. On the menu? Geeze, I can't even remember what Saturday's dinner was. Last night was nachos. Yes. Nachos. Doesn't really matter to me because as I might have mentioned: nothing sounds good to me.
I'm hoping this affliction will cure itself soon. Especially because the impending 'food holiday' is a mere three days away. I am cooking. And I'm liking my menu.
I did poop out a little though and decided to go with a store bought tofurky rather than my usual Homemade Tofurky or Homemade Seitan Roast. Both are fairly simple but hey, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. Bear with me friends.
So for today I have a fun little recipe courtesy of Vegetarian Times, one of my favorite magazines. It's a simple and tasty broccoli pesto pasta. I added a few tweaks here and there because I just can't leave any recipe alone.
Need:
- 6 Tablespoons raw cashews
- 3 large garlic cloves, quartered
- 2 cups organic broccoli florets
- 1 1/2 cups loosely packed parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained, optional
- 12 oz. medium sized pasta. I used shells
- 1 container cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 package tofurky sun dried tomato sausages, cut lengthwise then sliced
- Fresh parsley leaves for garnish (optional)
- Fresh lemon for garnish (optional)
Do:
Coarsely chop cashews and place in a food processor along with garlic. Pulse until you have a rough consistency. Note: you don't have to go overboard on this because you'll be adding more ingredients.
Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add broccoli and cook about 2-3 minutes until just barely soft. Drain and shake to get most of the moisture off.
Add broccoli, parsley, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and capers to your food processor and pulse/blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper, blend again and taste. Add more salt and pepper as needed then set aside.
Bring another large pot of salted water to a boil and add pasta. Cook until al dente then drain but do not rinse.
While pasta is cooking, combine tomatoes, sausage and pesto to a large skillet and heat on low. Cook stirring until pasta is done.
When pasta is done add to the skillet and stir to combine, ensuring pesto evenly covers everything. You're ready to serve.
Serve:
Portion onto a plate and add a bit of extra fresh parsley and a squirt of fresh lemon juice, if desired.
Perfect with a little green salad.
Enjoy!