This dish uses the same technique for creating a thick, rich sauce as the Cheesey Sauce recipe - blending steamed potatoes into the sauce. It tastes so good, it is hard to believe there is no oil or dairy added!
The addition of fresh basil, adds a gorgeous pop of colour, as well as flavour, to make this a truly comforting meal, that seems like a treat.
Basil is such an easy herb to grow, either in pots or in the garden, and it tends to be abundant during summer. The plants go to seed as we go into autumn, so you need to harvest and use as much of your basil as possible before the plant dies. That makes this a perfect autumn dish, for when you have mountains of basil to use up.Â
This recipe also makes the most of your broccoli. The florets are steamed and added to the final dish. The stem is cut up and steamed with the potatoes to go into the sauce. It is truly Whole Food plant based!
I have written the instructions for the order that ended up working best for me. I was trying to save on washing up too! But, like many pasta dishes, you do end up with a flurry of dirty pots/steamer/colander at the end. Sigh!
You could, however, choose to make the sauce in advance (perhaps during a weekend prep session). Then assemble the dish with freshly cooked pasta and broccoli, for a quick weekday dinner. The vibrancy of the basil colour may dull a little, but the flavour will definitely still be there!
Set 2x large pots onto the stove. In the larger pot, add the Sauce Ingredients. In the other pot, add plenty of water for cooking the pasta.
Cut the florets from the broccoli. Do not throw the stem away. Cut each floret into even, bite size pieces. Set aside.
Peel the lower part of the broccoli stem, to remove the hard outer skin. Scrub the potato. Cut them both into a dice, about 1.5cm. Add to pot with the Sauce Ingredients.
Start cooking the Sauce Ingredients, initially on high, then turning down once boiling. Keep cooking, stirring regularly, until the potato and broccoli stems are very soft.
Meanwhile start cooking the pasta. Bring the water in the Pasta Pot to a rapid boil. Add the dry pasta. Stir to make sure the pasta shapes don't stick to each other. Continue to cook the pasta until it is almost cooked - when you can bite through the pasta, but it is still slightly hard..
When the Pasta is close to being cooked, blend the Sauce using a stick blender.
NOTE: don't do this too early, as it acts like a mud pool once blended. Make your life easier by avoiding this 🙂
When the Pasta is almost cooked, add the broccoli florets to the Pasta Pot. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the broccoli is bright green, and starting to soften.
Add the basil leaves in handful sized batches to the Sauce Pot and blend them into the sauce. The idea is to maintain the fresh green colour of the basil by not overcooking it once added.
Continue to blend the sauce until it is bright, vibrant green.
Drain the Pasta and Broccoli. Immediately add them to the Sauce Pot. Stir and serve immediately in bowls, with some ripped basil leaves as decoration.
Serves 3-6.
Ingredients
Directions
Set 2x large pots onto the stove. In the larger pot, add the Sauce Ingredients. In the other pot, add plenty of water for cooking the pasta.
Cut the florets from the broccoli. Do not throw the stem away. Cut each floret into even, bite size pieces. Set aside.
Peel the lower part of the broccoli stem, to remove the hard outer skin. Scrub the potato. Cut them both into a dice, about 1.5cm. Add to pot with the Sauce Ingredients.
Start cooking the Sauce Ingredients, initially on high, then turning down once boiling. Keep cooking, stirring regularly, until the potato and broccoli stems are very soft.
Meanwhile start cooking the pasta. Bring the water in the Pasta Pot to a rapid boil. Add the dry pasta. Stir to make sure the pasta shapes don't stick to each other. Continue to cook the pasta until it is almost cooked - when you can bite through the pasta, but it is still slightly hard..
When the Pasta is close to being cooked, blend the Sauce using a stick blender.
NOTE: don't do this too early, as it acts like a mud pool once blended. Make your life easier by avoiding this 🙂
When the Pasta is almost cooked, add the broccoli florets to the Pasta Pot. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the broccoli is bright green, and starting to soften.
Add the basil leaves in handful sized batches to the Sauce Pot and blend them into the sauce. The idea is to maintain the fresh green colour of the basil by not overcooking it once added.
Continue to blend the sauce until it is bright, vibrant green.
Drain the Pasta and Broccoli. Immediately add them to the Sauce Pot. Stir and serve immediately in bowls, with some ripped basil leaves as decoration.
Serves 3-6.
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