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Pasta and White Beans with Broccoli Pesto

Cannellini beans are a high-fiber, low-calorie way to add protein to pasta dishes.
Everyday Food, January/February 2012
  • Prep Time 15 minutes
  • Total Time 25 minutes
  • Yield Serves 4
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Ingredients

  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 bunch broccoli, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
  • 10 ounces short pasta, such as fusilli
  • 5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 ounce Parmesan, finely grated (1/4 cup), plus more for serving (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
  • 1/2 small garlic clove

Directions

  1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook broccoli until tender and bright green, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer broccoli to a food processor. Return water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 2 cups pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.

  2. To food processor, add oil, Parmesan, lemon zest and juice, parsley, and garlic. Puree until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down side as needed. Transfer pesto to pot with pasta. Stir to coat, adding enough reserved pasta water to make a creamy sauce. Stir in beans and heat over medium until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, sprinkle with Parmesan, if desired.

Recipe Reviews

  • caj98b
    17 Jan, 2012

    I fixed the recipe! I used my Beaba Baby Cook food processor for a finer texture. Be sure to reserve at least 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water to use to thin out the sauce when you puree it (add it slowly) I also added 1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts which I toasted in 1 tbls of olive oil on the stove until they turned golden brown. Then I added that to the mix and pureed the whole thing. I finished off the dish by squeezing the other half of unused lemon which I think added more bite.

  • nylucy4
    10 Jan, 2012

    This was terrible. The taste of the pesto was not good. The texture was off and I'm so sorry that I wasted the ingredients.

  • lagmurphy
    8 Jan, 2012

    This recipe is different. It needs more spice, but not sure what. It's very light and my daughter who doesn't eat broccoli really liked it. For that reason, I will probably make it again because it is a healthy dish. I did not add the beans and instead added pine nuts which gave the dish a nice bite.

  • mfwa
    5 Jan, 2012

    This was terrible! The texture killed the dish and the white beans just didn't mesh with the other flavors. i love Everyday Food but this was a let down.

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