Broccoli Pesto

I made this broccoli pesto last night and tossed it over orzo and steamed broccoli florets, then topped it with avocado slices, pine nuts and freshly grated Parmesan. It was soo yummy! The recipe came from a new cookbook I picked up at Anthropologie. It's called super natural every day by Heidi Swanson. There are lots of great healthy recipes in it, and I can't wait to try out more of them. This broccoli pesto is really simple to make and easy to toss over your favorite pasta.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of broccoli, blanched
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor, except the olive oil and milk. Once all the ingredients are in the food processor stream in the olive oil and milk while pulsing the other ingredients until smooth. The original recipe called for creme fraiche, however I did not have any so I just used whole milk. It came out great!

Greek Pesto Fettuccine with Toasted Pine Nuts and Feta Cheese

• 16 oz fettuccine
• 1 cup of Pesto (recipe link below; or you can use a store bought pesto)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 bundle of aparagus, tops cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
• 1 cup of grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/3 cup kalamata olives, halved
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the fettuccine, cook until tender. Drain the pasta and toss with the pesto.  Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan and add the first 5 vegetables. Saute until tender. Add the tomatoes and olives, stirring to heat through. Toss the vegetable mixture with the pesto fettuccine and then top with the toasted pine nuts and feta cheese. Serve warm. 

Pesto recipe by Ina Garten

Casey and I had this pasta dish at a restaurant in La Jolla, and I decided to recreate it at home. It is a really easy recipe to make and can serve 6 to 8 people. You could even toss chicken into the pasta as well.