Recipes
Vegan Broccoli Pesto
6min read
A creamy, rich, cheesy vegan pesto which doesn't rely on basil or herbs for its vibrancy and flavour. Instead, it uses broccoli and peas as a base, and relies on cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon and olive oil for depth, flavour and acidity.
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Serves
6
Ingredients
Pesto:
1 head of broccoli (around 300g), chopped
130g peas
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 lemon, juiced
1 tbsp (11g) nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
35g cashews
70ml olive oil
Sunflower Seed Topping:
60g sunflower seeds
1 tbsp (15g) coconut oil
1 tbsp (11g) nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp salt
To Serve:
400g pasta
Plant based cheese, optional
Method
STEP 1
Start by making the topping. Heat a small pan over medium heat. Add the sunflower seeds to the heated pan, and toast them for 4-5 minutes until golden brown, stirring often to ensure they don't burn.
STEP 2
Transfer the toasted sunflower seeds into a food processor, along with the coconut oil, nutritional yeast and salt. Pulse the sunflower seeds for 2-3 minutes, until they're completely broken down. Transfer the crumbs into a bowl and wipe the food processor clean.
STEP 3
Start by preparing the pesto. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Place the broccoli and peas in the boiling water and cook them for 1-2 minutes, until vibrant.
STEP 4
Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water and transfer them into the food processor. Leave the pot of boiling water over the heat and use it to cook the pasta.
STEP 5
To the food processor, add the garlic, lemon juice and nutritional yeast and pulse to combine for 2-3 minutes, until the broccoli and peas are completely broken down.
STEP 6
Add the cashews and salt to the food processor, and pulse again until the cashews are broken down.
STEP 7
With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil in, until the pesto comes together - around 1 minute. Taste for seasoning and adjust, adding more salt, pepper or lemon juice to taste.
STEP 8
Reserve 100ml of the water the pasta is cooking in before draining it. Add the pasta back into the pot, then stir in the pesto and reserved cooking water. Toss the pasta together until it's evenly coated in pesto. .
STEP 9
Serve the pasta topped with the sunflower seed crumb, a drizzle of olive oil, black pepper and cheese, if using.
By Valentina Concordia
Valentina is our Food Editor, who dreams up our tasty dishes and recipes for our social channels. She has loads of experience cooking up a storm in Italian kitchens, so it’s no surprise she can’t live without good-quality olive oil (don’t come between her and her olive oil) and fresh pasta.
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