Remember last week when I posted about the Butternut Squash and Kale Pizza? And I told you that I had leftover kale? Well, here’s what became of it. I massaged with raw kale with a homemade dressing (olive oil, lemon juice, champagne vinegar, salt and pepper) and let it sit for 15 minutes to break down and lose the bitterness. Then I topped it with some burrata cheese, more olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. Simple and delicious.
I served the salad as an appetizer, and for dinner we had steak (here’s my method) and orzo with broccoli pesto. I actually like this version of broccoli pasta sauce better than the other version I’ve made, and it has a lot less fat!
Broccoli Pesto
adapted from Real Simple – I actually had a little bit of pesto sauce leftover from another use, so instead of fresh herbs I just threw that in.
serves 4
1 bunch broccoli (about 1 lb), trimmed and cut into florets
kosher salt and black pepper
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (I prefer basil)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
1 oz Parmesan, grated (about 1/4 cup), plus more for serving
1 lb pasta of choice
Cook the broccoli in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes (To make clean up easier, cook your pasta in this same pot). Transfer to a blender container and allow to cool slightly.
Pulse the broccoli, herbs, oil, pine nuts, Parmesan, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in the blender until coarsely pureed, 15 to 20 seconds.
Reserve some cooking water from your pasta.
Add the broccoli pesto and 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water to your pasta and toss to combine. (Add more cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce.)
Serve sprinkled with more Parmesan.
One Year Ago – Mini Pie Party
Two Years Ago – Roasted Salmon w/ Grapefruit
Three Years Ago – Moussaka