Broccoli Pesto

The broccoli pesto was a recipe born out of my craving for pesto all genovese *insert Italian hand gesture here, LOL*. I said pesto all genovese instead of pesto not because it sounds fancier (although it does), but because “pesto” doesn’t necessarily refer just to the basil-filled paste we’ve come to think of. Pesto, in Italian, simply means paste or sauce and it can be a combination of any herbs and vegetables.

Anyway, back to my story. It was March (still snowy in Guelph), and fresh basil was expensive at that time. And there I was, standing in front of No Frill's™produce section thinking what can I substitute basil's peppery, pleasantly bitter and pungent taste/aroma, that will also go well with garlic. BROCCOLI! 

BROCCOLI PESTO // 1 mason jar

This is a perfect pesto for pasta, grilled white meats and even used as a light spread on toast. What I have below is a general recipe. I love garlic (you've probably read that in my "About Me" section) so I added quite a bit in the pesto. Feel free to agak-agak with the proportions. As a general rule of thumb in agak-agak cooking, always start with a small amount, then slowly add more and more. It's always easy to add more, but hard to take certain thing out once it's added in. 

INGREDIENTS

- 2 cups of broccoli crowns
- 1 handful of lightly toasted pine nuts
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 cup of grated parmesan
- 1 cup of olive oil
- salt and pepper
- OPTIONAL: small handful of fresh herbs like basil and cilantro. 

INSTRUCTIONS

Pulse broccoli, pine nuts and garlic in food processor or blender.

Keep adding olive oil and parmesan to the mixture until it binds the ingredients and forms an oozy, pasty consistency.

Season with salt (or with more parmesan) and pepper. Taste and adjust as preferred.