Broccoli Pesto

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5 from 1 vote

This vegan broccoli pesto can be used to dress pasta, in a sandwich, on toast or jkt potato

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Gluten Free, Dairy Free

Diet: Freezes Well

Servings: servings

Calories: 154kcal

Author: Thrifty Lesley

Cost: 18p

Equipment

small sharp knife
chopping board
food processor

Ingredients

300 g broccoli a head of broccoli
2 stems fresh basil I used some from the greenhouse, so free, if you have to buy it, get a £1 plant and use half of it, 50p
½ lemon zest and juice
50 g hazelnuts
1 tsp garlic from jar or a crushed clove or two
125 ml rape seed oil
1 tsp salt, black pepper

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Toast the hazelnuts to bring out their flavour
Chop the broccoli up a little, especially the hard stems (include everything, don’t throw any of it away, except perhaps a tiny slice off the very end of the stem).
Pile everything into a food processor and give it all a good pulse until everything is chopped finely. Take the lid off the processor and breathe in the utterly delectable aroma, put the lid back on again
If it needs it, add a little water, or a bit more oil and mix well again. Taste, add more salt and pepper if it needs it. It needs to taste quite salty at this stage. This makes enough to dress 10 portions of pasta.

Notes

The taste is vibrant, bright and light from the lemon, deep from the garlic, with a faint taste of the hazelnuts coming through at the end

I have put my remaining pesto in little pots that come with takeaways, and will put them in the freezer for another day.

I tried some on a little piece of french stick and it was lovely, so would make a delicious (cheap!) sandwich, with or without soft cheese as used in Mackerel Pate

This features in Meal Plan 2, a complete 7 day plan for 2 adults. Contains 3 meals a day, plus snacks , all recipes and a shopping list

Nutrition