I absolutely love a good pesto. Most often, pesto is made with basil but it totally doesn’t have to be the star. The broccoli took the leading role in this dish. I paired it with some feta that I bought at the farmers market and a little lemon juice kept it tasting fresh for a great spring dinner.
Broccoli Pesto
Ingredients
- 12 oz pasta
- 3 links Italian sausage, sliced into 1/4" coins
- 1 lb broccoli, trimmed and cut
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 1 T olive oil
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- 1/4 C feta cheese
- Parmesan cheese to serve
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. When cooked, reserve 1/4 C of the water then drain pasta and set aside.
- Steam the broccoli until it is bright green. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large sauté pan. Cook the sausage. Once cooked, transfer to a paper towel.
- Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Once it starts to soften, add the broccoli. Cook until the onion starts to turn translucent. Pour in the lemon juice and simmer for a couple minutes.
- Transfer broccoli mixture to a blender or food processor and add 1/4 cup of the feta cheese and the 1/4 cup pasta water. Puree until it is as smooth or chunky as you prefer.
- Taste and add any necessary additional salt and pepper. Toss the pesto, pasta and sausage together. Top with some Parmesan to serve.
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