Broccoli Pasta Sauce

broccoli-pasta-sauce

by: Matt Zentz

I was looking for a healthy cream sauce and came across this recipe. I made it as indicated but after tasting it, I had to spice it up just a bit with bacon and fresh parmesan. As expected, the sauce gives off a heavy broccoli flavor, which was fine, but it seemed a bit bland.

I added the bacon and parmesan which kept it interesting. Everyone liked it and rated it about a 6-7 out of 10. Not to die for but would be fine having it again. So, there you have it. I once again took a very healthy recipe and killed it.

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 10 m
Cook Time: 30 m

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
  • 1 cup (150 g) yellow onion, peeled, cut into chunks
  • ½ cup (70 g) raw pine nuts
  • 2 cups (480 ml) vegetable stock
  • 3 cups (215 g) broccoli florets
  • ½ lemon, peeled
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, optional
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

    Added from original
  • 1 ½ cups freshly grated parmesan
  • 1 cup of cooked, chopped bacon

Directions

  1. Place a medium large sauce pot on the stove over medium heat. Add the olive oil and allow to heat. Add the onion and saute for 5-6 minutes until onions are translucent.
  2. Add pine nuts and saute for an additional 3-4 minutes until pine nuts are lightly toasted. Add broccoli and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add vegetable stock, lemon and pepper flake. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.
  3. Place the immersion blender into the middle of the stockpot. Submerge the blender below the surface of the liquid, but above the bottom of the pot.
  4. Start the blender on its lowest speed, then quickly increase to its highest speed. Move the immersion blender around, including up and down, to blend the ingredients for approximately 1 minute or until desired consistency is achieved.
  5. If going the less healthy route, add in bacon then heat for a couple minutes. Finally, mix in parmesan until melted.

Chef's Notes

For an additional pop of flavor, try adding in 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese to this sauce after simmering and blend it in.

Source

https://www.vitamix.com/us/en_us/recipes/broccoli-pasta-sauce?utm_campaign=yummly&utm_medium=yummly&utm_source=yummly