We decided to go vegetarian for January, and this was our first veggie meal for the month! It was sooo yummy! In the past, I have used vegetarian recipes as side dishes, so you could cut this in half to make side dish portions, or make the whole recipe if you like bigger sides! All three of us are on high protein diets, my husband and I for building muscle, my son to boost his brain power, so my criteria for all of this month's meals was that they must have a minimum of 20g of protein, which also means the only cook books I used for inspiration are ones that included nutrition information for all recipes (Which I really wish all cookbooks and magazines would do). I plan to input my version of all of these recipes into a recipe calculator so I can post the nutritional information for the changes I make.
How to make it!
4 cups broccoli, cut into 1 inch pieces (Two large heads, floretts and stems)
6 oz short cut pasta, I used rotini
5 teaspoons veggie or chicken stock
1/8 cup freshly shredded parmesan
1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1 Tbsp juice
1/2 cup packed fresh parsley
1 small clove garlic
1 can cannellini (Great Northern) beans, or 3/4 cup dry beans
If using dry beans, rinse, cover with water and soak overnight in the fridge. Rinse and drain, add to a pot and cover with water and cook according to the directions on the bag, drain and rinse and set aside. Or, drain and rinse canned beans.
In a pot of boiling salted water, cook broccoli until tender and bright green, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove broccoli to a food processor, return water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 2 cups cooking liquid and drain pasta and return to pot.
Meanwhile, to broccoli in food processor, add stock, parmesan, lemon zest and juice, parsley, and garlic. Puree until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Return to pot with pasta, stir to coat, and add reserved water as needed to make a creamy sauce (I needed it all). Stir in beans and heat over medium until warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper (Taste before salting, the cheese and pasta water will add a good bit of saltiness). Serve and sprinkle with additional cheese, if desired (And I desire!) and enjoy immensley! Serve with a salad, I dressed mine with a little lemon juice!
This recipe serves 4
4 cups broccoli, cut into 1 inch pieces (Two large heads, floretts and stems)
6 oz short cut pasta, I used rotini
5 teaspoons veggie or chicken stock
1/8 cup freshly shredded parmesan
1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1 Tbsp juice
1/2 cup packed fresh parsley
1 small clove garlic
1 can cannellini (Great Northern) beans, or 3/4 cup dry beans
If using dry beans, rinse, cover with water and soak overnight in the fridge. Rinse and drain, add to a pot and cover with water and cook according to the directions on the bag, drain and rinse and set aside. Or, drain and rinse canned beans.
In a pot of boiling salted water, cook broccoli until tender and bright green, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove broccoli to a food processor, return water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 2 cups cooking liquid and drain pasta and return to pot.
Meanwhile, to broccoli in food processor, add stock, parmesan, lemon zest and juice, parsley, and garlic. Puree until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Return to pot with pasta, stir to coat, and add reserved water as needed to make a creamy sauce (I needed it all). Stir in beans and heat over medium until warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper (Taste before salting, the cheese and pasta water will add a good bit of saltiness). Serve and sprinkle with additional cheese, if desired (And I desire!) and enjoy immensley! Serve with a salad, I dressed mine with a little lemon juice!
This recipe serves 4
Hey you're posting again! Just saw it in my blog feed ;-) Welcome back girl!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I figured since I've been posting recipes to my "Like" page, I might as well start posting to my blog again, too! It has the added advantage of not freezing on me while I type like FB does, so I don't end up in a rage lol! :)
DeleteI'm all about remaining rage-free ;-)
ReplyDelete:)
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