Broccoli Pesto

                    I've been finding myself with a lot of broccoli in the fridge lately.  I love roasted broccoli, but I figured it was time to find something else to do with broccoli.  I found a recipe for red pepper soup with broccoli pest trees on Food Network.  Broccoli pesto intrigued me.  I loved that it was a vegetable pesto that I had never thought of.  It automatically adds a vegetable to whatever you are using it with, whether it be a sandwich, a pasta dish, or a vegetable dish.  I also like that if you don't have that much basil on hand, which I don't since it's the winter and the garden is frozen over, you can supplement the basil by adding broccoli.

                    I didn't follow the recipe but if you want to take a look at it here it is.



Ingredients

1. 1 cup fresh basil (loose and not packed down)
2. 2 cups broccoli florets
3. 3 cloves of garlic (2 of the cloves were smaller, so you can use just 2 large cloves)
4. 1/3 cup walnuts
5. 2 1/2 oz. parmesan cheese
6. 1/2 cup of olive oil
7. 1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Place the broccoli florets in a microwave safe dish.  Add 1/2 cup of water and cook on high for 3 minutes.

Place the broccoli in a food processor.  Add to it the basil, garlic, and walnuts.  Pulse until you have a fine mixture.

Then add the parmesan cheese and salt and pulse again to combine.

Finally add the oil and pulse.  If you think the mixture is too dry for your liking, add a little more oil.

This made 2 cups of pesto.

I used this to top off pasta with roasted vegetables.