Broccoli pesto & pancetta pasta
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This isn't a photo of the actual dish because I ate it too quickly... Image source: Shutterstock.
I am a very big fan of pesto for so many reasons. The three biggest reasons being:
- It’s easy (and cheap) to make.
- You can make it so much healthier by sneaking in extra greens like baby spinach, frozen broccoli, and even frozen peas.
- You can make a lot and keep it in a jar in the fridge to have with eggs, on wrap pizzas, and even just on toast!
Ingredients
300g head broccoli, broken into florets (or just get frozen broccoli)
300g pasta
1 tbsp pine nuts
1 large bunch of basil
1 large garlic clove
2 tbsp parmesan, finely grated
1 tbsp olive oil
50g smoked pancetta, diced
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
Method
- Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the broccoli and boil for 5 mins. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Put the pasta in the same pan and cook following pack instructions. Meanwhile, tip the broccoli into a food processor with the pine nuts, basil, garlic, parmesan and oil, and blitz until smooth. Season with black pepper and a little salt (the pancetta is very salty).
- Set a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the pancetta for 2 mins. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 mins, or until softened. Toss the pasta with the broccoli pesto, tomatoes and pancetta, and loosen with a splash of pasta water, if needed. Spoon into bowls and serve and enjoy!
