MAKES 4 CUPS, PREP AND COOK TIME 20 MINUTES
Ingredients
- 500g broccoli (2 small heads),
- cut into florets
- 100g piece parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2/3 cup (100g) pine nuts, toasted
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
- 1 cup (250ml) extra virgin olive oil
- blanched asparagus and green beans,
- radishes, baby carrots
- and cucumbers, to serve
Method
Rinse broccoli under cold running water; drain. Place the broccoli in a microwave-safe container and cook, covered, on HIGH for five minutes. Remove, take the lid off and allow to cool.
Break the parmesan up into a few pieces and place in the bowl of the food processor. Blitz until it is chopped finely. Add the garlic, pine nuts, basil, spinach and salt; blitz again. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and blitz again, pouring the oil in a steady stream as you go.
Serve pesto with vegetables.
Julie’s tips
- Store pesto, refrigerated, for up to three days, in a jar or container. Cover the surface of the pesto with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent discolouration.
- This pesto is lovely as a dip on its own and is also great as a pasta sauce, loosened with a little of the pasta cooking water
Not suitable to freeze or microwave.
