THE DAIRY KITCHEN
Orechiette Pasta with Creamy Basil and Broccoli Sauce
By THE DAIRY KITCHEN
Serves
4
Difficulty
Easy
Preparation
10 MINS
Cooking
20 MINS
This fresh and fast pasta hides a tonne of vegetables in its delicious creamy sauce. You could also use ricotta or cottage cheese to make this lower in fat and higher in protein.
Ingredients
200g broccoli, cut into florets1 small (125g) zucchini, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup basil leaves
150g cream cheese
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
250g orechiette or shell pasta
2 cups frozen peas
For Serving
2 tablespoons shaved parmesan
Handy Tips
Orechiette means "little ears" in Italian, the pasta's curved shape is perfect to hold this sauce, but it can be substituted with pasta shells.
For something different try adding a couple of anchovies to the broccoli sauce when pureeing and try sprinkling with a few toasted slivered almonds before serving.
Method
- Cook broccoli, zucchini and garlic in a large saucepan of boiling water for 5 minutes or until the broccoli is just tender and bright green. Using a slotted spoon, scoop vegetables and garlic into a food processor with 1/2 cup cooking water, basil, cream cheese, parmesan and pepper. Blend until a smooth sauce is formed.
- Cook pasta in the same pot of boiling water, until al dente, drain.
- Pour broccoli mixture into a saucepan, stir in peas and cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes until peas are just cooked, then toss in pasta. Serve immediately topped with a grinding of black pepper and shaved parmesan.
