Broccoli and walnut pesto, an easy and indulgent recipe to prepare a delicious winter pesto like the Kale Pesto, perfect on pasta, pizza and crostini. If you are looking for a creative way to cook broccoli or a tasty winter first course that’s different from the usual, you must try the broccoli and walnut pesto with sun-dried tomatoes, a flavorful recipe that is part of our collection dedicated to Homemade Pestos: the best recipes. Broccoli and walnut pesto is a delicate cream, very simple to make, a vegetarian recipe ideal for dressing a healthy, tasty and flavorful pasta dish. To make the broccoli pesto you only need a few ingredients and in 20 minutes you can also prepare the broccoli and almond pesto, simply substituting the same amount of walnuts with almonds. If you prefer a lighter broccoli pesto, just replace almost all the oil called for in the recipe with the broccoli cooking water. Broccoli pesto is also ideal to get kids to eat broccoli with their pasta, who will probably even use bread to mop up the sauce! Let’s go to the kitchen now — the broccoli pesto recipe is waiting — but before you run to the stove, remember that if you want to stay updated on my recipes, you can follow my page on Facebook and my profile on Instagram.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring
Ingredients to make Broccoli and Walnut Pesto
- 5.5 cups broccoli (about 14 oz (about 2.5 cups) already cooked)
- 7 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2/3 cup Parmesan (or a mix of Parmesan and Pecorino)
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
- 1 cup walnuts (shelled)
- to taste water (broccoli cooking water)
Tools
- Pot
- Food processor
Steps to make the broccoli pesto
Bring a pot full of water to a boil. Separate the broccoli florets from each other and remove the toughest part of the stem, rinse them, drain and drop them into the boiling water. Blanch everything for about 7-8 minutes; the broccoli should be al dente, still a vivid green and not mushy. Drain them, collect them in a bowl and let them cool — I recommend placing them on the windowsill so they cool quickly or immersing them in ice water (to keep a vivid green color).
Gather in the blender the broccoli, the cheese (in pieces or grated), pepper, walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes and the oil. You can add more oil than indicated or use some of the broccoli cooking water for a lighter pesto. Blitz until you obtain a cream and adjust salt (just a pinch, since there is already cheese and sun-dried tomatoes).
The broccoli and walnut pesto is ready to be served. Any leftover quantity should be stored in the fridge for a maximum of 3 days in an airtight container, or it can be portioned and frozen.
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