Broccoli & Kale Pesto Pasta! GF, V, BED!

Do you ever just crave pasta? A plate of warm, slurpy goodness that would make your inner Italian grandmother proud?

SO delicious!

I do! And I bet if you’re gluten-free — or even if you’re not — I bet you’ve probably had one of those days too :)

unbelievably healthy and yummy!

Pasta gets a bad wrap. It’s a “forbidden food” — seen as a diet-buster, unhealthy, and “pants-button-busting.” I’m here to tell you, that could not be further from the truth! Yes, it’s true that ordering a plate of fettucine alfredo from Olive Garden, or 4-Cheese Tortellini with Brown Butter Sauce — not the best thing for you, and probably deserving of the “sparingly” category of the food pyramid. However, pasta done right – in Happy Tummy fashion – is actually healthy for you!

wait a minute — the pesto is broccoli and kale!?

First of all, I’m using Quinoa pasta – which is gluten free and packed with protein.

want a bite?

And then the sauce — is ALL VEGGIES! In fact, this pasta could be called a Cruciferous Carnival — because the pasta is tossed with roasted cauliflower, and the pesto is a puree of broccoli, kale and basil! Talk about a nutrient dense meal!

what a plate!

And it’s gluten free, vegan, Body Ecology Diet friendly, and 100% delicious!

a cruciferous carnival!

Here’s what you need:

1 box of quinoa pasta
1/2 head of cauliflower, broken into florets and roasted

Sauce:
1 big stalk of broccoli, broken into florets and steamed
3 stalks of kale, stems removed, chopped and steamed
1 1/2 cups basil
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 big garlic cloves
1 tsp EVOO
sea salt
reserved pasta water

packed with nutrients!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place your cauliflower florets on an olive-oil-sprayed baking sheet. Spritz with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, flipping half way though.

While they’re baking, toast your pine nuts, and steam your broccoli & kale for about 5 minutes, until bright green and tender. Rinse under cold water, drain, and set aside to cool slightly. Then, blend it with your pesto ingredients and about 3/4 cup of pasta water in the food processor until thick and creamy. Adjust salt to taste. Toss with your cooked pasta and roasted cauliflower. Garnish with chopped basil! YUM!

gorgeous crust on the halibut!

With this outrageous pasta, I served broiled halibut from Lobsta Bakes. This wild, ocean-caught fish was so delicious – sweet and tender! I broiled it for 10 minutes with 1 tsp EVOO, salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, cumin, and garlic powder — delicious!

Gluten Free, Vegan, and Body Ecology Diet Friendly!

This meal was delicious! The pasta was so unbelievably yummy! The flavor was bright and fresh from the basil! And the streamed broccoli made it so creamy and luxurious! My parents found it hard to believe that there wasn’t any cream or butter in it because it was so rich and decadent tasting! Thank you broccoli!!

fabulously roasted cauliflower!

And it coated the spaghetti so fabulously! Slurpy, creamy and hearty, but incredibly light! And the roasted cauliflower was nutty and superb. It provided a nice crunch too! It was almost like they were cauliflower “meatballs!”

Broccoli & Kale Pesto Pasta!

This pasta is definitely no “diet buster!”

What’s your favorite pasta dish?

Yay food processor recipes!! Here's the one I use: