Broccoli Pesto Pate! GF, V, BED, SCD!

Today was one of those soul-satisfying days where it rained softly outside all day, and you just got to stay inside, cozy, with a mug of tea.

what a plate!

It was especially homey being on the lake. You could see the pitter-patter of the rain drops on the surface of the water – perfect when you’re snuggled up inside.

such fantastic texture!

So when dinner time rolled around, I felt like something to reflect the day: comfort foody – and just plain good.

wild, ocean-caught cod!

I had a beautiful bunch of basil that was justbegging to be used, so it was settled: Broccoli Pesto Pate!

I served it two ways: one as the star of a salad, and one on top of a beautiful broiled cod fillet. It would also be amazing with some pita chips or other “starchy” kinds of things: Triscuits, pasta, a baked potato — but then, those things are not on the Specific Carb Diet, so the salad/fish options were just my cuppa tea:)

so beautiful!

I got my wild, ocean-caught, fresh-never-frozen cod from Lobsta Bakes. It’s an amazing fish shop in Cincinnati. We froze the fish and brought it up to Wisconsin with us…because we’re that cool:)

nom nom nom!

And it’s Gluten Free, Vegan (minus the fish ;) ), Body Ecology Diet and Specific Carb Diet friendly!

Here’s what you need: serves 2

1 large stalk of broccoli, including the stem, chopped and steamed
1/2 cup packed basil
2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1 garlic clove, chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp EVOO
salt and pepper

1 red pepper, cut into thin strips and baked
1 cup baby spinach (per person)
1/4 cup blueberries (optional, BED omit)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place your red pepper strips on an olive-oil-sprayed baking sheet, spritz them with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 9 minutes, stirring once half way through.

Mean while, steam your broccoli for about 7-8 minutes, until bright green and tender. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process, and dry. Add your broccoli to the food processor along with all the other pesto pate ingredients. Process until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides twice.

To assemble the salad, put a bed of baby spinach on your plate. Put a layer of roasted red peppers on top, and then put half of your broccoli mixture on top of that. Sprinkle with blueberries if desired.

—–OR—–

Broil your cod for about 10-15 minutes until flakey in 1 tsp EVOO, salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, cumin and garlic powder. Top with roasted red peppers and your broccoli pesto pate.

This meal was great. The pate was so flavorful and the texture was marvelous! It was rich, creamy, and luxurious – all thanks to the steamed broccoli!

Gluten Free, Vegan, BED, SCD!

It was just bursting with the fresh flavors of basil, garlic and lemon, which went perfectly with the smokey, roasted red peppers. And the blueberries provided a nice sweet surprise! It sounds strange, but it was totally delicious!

yes, the blueberries work in this dish, I promise!!

But my personal favorite way to eat this was on top of the fish. The smokey-spice of the chili powder and cumin were the perfect complement to the pesto. And this was sans-blueberries:)

delicious!

Do you like rainy days? What are your favorite rainy day activities? — Reading? Watching movies? Baking cookies?

Until tomorrow!

Need a food processor? I love mine and use it literally every day! Here's the one I use: