I absolutely love making pesto at home, but sometimes I want a sauce that is a bit lighter and more nutritious. The other night, I knew I wanted to make some combination of broccoli, pasta and chicken sausgage, but I didn’t want to just sautee all of the ingredients above. Instead, I made a pesto-like sauce (if you can call it that) out of the broccoli.
Ingredients:
- 2 large heads of broccoli
- 1 large glove of garlic
- Pasta (I like orecchiette for this because the “sauce” gets into the little shells)
- Red pepper flakes
- Salt/Pepper
- Olive oil
- Amylu Italian chicken sausage
Directions:
- Boil broccoli (with stems cut off) in a large pot of salted water. Cook it a little bit more than you would if you were preparing it normally
- Drain broccoli and then using a very sharp knife, cut the broccoli very finely.
- Combine garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes and broccoli into a sauce pan
- Cook on medium thoroughly until flavors have combined
- Cook pasta normally
- Grill chicken sausage and cut into small pieces
- Combine broccoli, pasta and sausage.
- Serve with parmesan cheese
Super simple! Its also a great way to sneak vegetables into a familiar pasta dish.
Love the idea of a broccoli pesto– thanks for sharing!!
Great idea! Super healthy and tasty!
This looks awesome Alex, will definitely be trying it out!
What a great idea…never would have considered broccoli an option!
OK, I’m trying this – yum!
Yum! I’ll have to try this — the only vegetable my man will eat is broccoli!
Champagne Lifestyle on a Beer Budget
I hate broccoli, but I’m trying to get more “green” in my diet, so I might have to try this! Thanks for sharing this new way to eat it!
-Sarah @ 702 Park Project
Looks delicious! I love broccoli and this dish looks simple, healthy and tasty. Thanks for sharing!
~Becca
beccatochman.com
This sounds so simple, and I love that it’s an easy way to sneak in broccoli!
Kirby
http://www.theshortandthesweetofit.com/
Sounds delicious…I love an easy + simple recipe!!
yum! Going to have to try this one out!
I make a broccoli pesto all the time (I have the recipe on my blog)…I still add the basil, garlic, a little olive oil and a little parm like normal pesto but I also add in cannelloni beans…it makes it nice and creamy and adds protein!
Runway Chef
I just finished making (and eating!) this. Delicious! Easy enough to make while my 2 little ones were running around.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!