I’m excited to share this new recipe with you! It’s a glorious company-worthy dish, combining fresh basil, raw pistachios, loads of steamed broccoli florets, and lemon juice into a creamy sauce, served over warm pasta with extra broccoli, crispy homemade croutons, and crushed pistachios. Yum!
There are a few steps, but it isn’t difficult. While croutons are in the oven, cook the pasta. Sauté the onion and steam the broccoli, and then it’s time to blend the sauce ingredients all together! Garnish and serve.
This one is a keeper. Please enjoy!
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- Vegan Cobb Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
- Buffalo-Inspired Roasted Cauliflower
- Peanut Fried Rice
- BBQ Mac and Cheese
- Creamy Potato and Corn Chowder
- Pineapple Upside Down Donuts
- Pistachio Ice Cream
- No-Bake Fudgy Brownies with Peanut Butter Cornflake Frosting
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CREAMY BROCCOLI PASTA WITH FRESH BASIL AND PISTACHIOS
Pasta
1 pound whole wheat pasta
Creamy Sauce
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 small cloves garlic, minced
8 cups raw broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups fresh basil, packed
1 cup raw pistachios (shelled)
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Garnish
additional pistachios, crushed
Instructions
Prepare Homemade Oil-Free Croutons. Once croutons are golden and crispy, remove from oven and set aside.
Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain pasta, and set aside.
While pasta is cooking, heat a large nonstick skillet (like Scanpan) over medium-high heat. Add the onion, and steam sauté until the onion becomes translucent. Sprinkle a little bit of water as needed to prevent sticking to the pan. Once the onion is tender, add the garlic and continue to sauté for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
Steam the broccoli florets using your favorite method (see my method below*) until brightly colored and fork tender. Remove from heat. Season to taste with a sprinkle of salt. Set aside.
To prepare the sauce, divide the steamed broccoli. Add one half (only) to a Vitamix or other high-powered blender, along with the sautéed onion and garlic, 1 1/2 cups of water, fresh basil, 1 cup of pistachios, lemon juice, mustard, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Process sauce until very smooth.
To serve, ladle sauce generously over plates of warm pasta. Top with extra steamed broccoli and a handful (or more) of homemade croutons.
Garnish each plate with an extra sprinkle of crushed pistachios.
*Here’s my method for steaming broccoli. I place broccoli florets into a large steaming basket, and place the steaming basket over two inches of simmering water. Then I cover the pan and steam broccoli until barely fork tender. (I use a large nonstick Scanpan skillet, with a Scanpan steamer insert that fits right over the top, but an OXO silcone steamer works great too.)
Copyright © Vicki Brett-Gach | Ann Arbor Vegan Kitchen