Roasted Broccoli Pasta Sauce
Pureed roasted broccoli with white beans makes for a rich, flavorful vegetarian pasta sauce.
[Disclaimer: I received a free copy of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible - plus two more to giveaway to our readers! I was not compensate for writing this post.]
If I could only save one cookbook in a fire, The Flavor Bible by Karen Page & Andrew Dornenburg would be one of the contenders.
While not really a cookbook, this extensive resource has really expanded my flavor horizons in the kitchen. I actually have two copies - one in my kitchen and one in my upstairs office - which I reference at least weekly, sometimes daily.
So, when Karen reached out to me to see if I wanted a copy of her new The Vegetarian Flavor Bible to review; well, obviously, I didn't say no. (It was more like a teenage girl reaction of "OMG -tots!")
And even cooler, I'm participating in her virtual book tour celebrating registered dietitians and National Nutrition Month along with some awesome RD bloggers.
The bulk of the Vegetarian Flavor Bible focuses on food flavor pairings for a long list of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds along with some flavor matches for cheese.
But you don't have to be vegan or even vegetarian (which I'm neither) to glean from this book. Despite some of the heavy vegan content in the first two chapters, anyone - meat eater or not - who wants to include more veggies and fruit into their daily diet could definitely use this resource for creativity in the kitchen.
So, this recipe was inspired by a technique Karen and Andrew use at home - pureeing cooked veggies into a creamy sauce for pasta without cream or butter. (Though I used Parmesan cheese in my version as it's no secret that I think dairy foods can fit into a healthful diet.)
I flipped to "BROCCOLI" in the book and was inspired by these pairings:
broccoli + garlic + olive oil + Parmesan cheese + walnuts
broccoli + garlic + lemon + olive oil + chili pepper flakes
This sauce is really like making a pesto (in fact, next time I will try adding the walnuts to the blender instead of sprinkling on top as I did here.) Pasta cooking water is what's key in binding and thickening the sauce - an age-old Italian cooking trick.
The recipe is vegetarian (and would be vegan except for the Parmesan cheese, which you could omit if you wanted.)
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Roasted Broccoli Pasta Sauce
- Yield: 4-6 servings. 1x
Ingredients
- 6 cups chopped broccoli
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound whole wheat penne pasta
- 1 (15 ounce can) low sodium Northern white or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- Juice and zest of half of lemon
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Pasta water
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, toss together broccoli, olive oil, garlic, salt and black pepper. Spread onto baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, until broccoli has softened (stirring every 5 minutes or so.)
- While broccoli is cooking, cook pasta according to package. Be sure to save about 2 cups of pasta water when draining. Keep pasta warm until sauce is ready.
- Remove broccoli from oven and add to blender or food processor. Add beans, lemon juice, lemon zest, red pepper flakes and 1 ¼ cups pasta water. Puree well and add in more pasta water as needed to make a smoother sauce.
- Toss half of broccoli sauce with pasta (store remaining pasta sauce in sealed container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.) Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and walnuts. Serve warm.
Instead of broccoli, you could swap in cauliflower, carrots, beets - the list goes on with the different veggies you could feature in this sauce for sure. In fact, here are a few more of our favorite veggie pasta sauces: Spinach Avocado Alfredo Sauce and Butternut Squash Fettuccine Alfredo.
Are you familiar with The Flavor Bible? What's your favorite veggie to pair with pasta?
I've been making cream sauce with chickpeas and cauliflower a lot as of late, but I shall def have to try using broccoli next time! The Flavor Bible really helped me to expand my horizons when it comes to food pairings. When I'm brainstorming for recipe ideas, that's what I turn to first.
Me too, Min - I don't know what I'd do with out it! Love the idea of using chickpeas in this sauce too (I'm still warming up to cauliflower - lol.)
Those books look amazing. I love how the authors offer different pairings: I'd love to try the broccoli, garlic, walnut option. And I'm with you about the dairy: It's a big part of my family's diet, though we do tend to go with the lower-fat options out there.
Yes, these books have gotten me out of so many recipe ruts for sure!
This is the one book I REALLY want. I don't usually enter other RD's contest, but I'm making an exception for this one...seriously.
It is a good one - good luck!! 🙂
This looks delicious! I make a creamy spinach walnut pesto that is similar to this -- uses cottage cheese in place of the beans, and has some basil in it.
Oooh, that sounds really fantastic - going to try that with my next bunch of broccoli 🙂
I have no idea why I've never made a broccoli sauce before, but it might be time! Roast broccoli is so delicious and I bet I would love it as a sauce.
Yes! Karen and Andrew spoke at the IFBC this year which was held in Seattle. So inspiring and I heard amazing things about the book.
Very cool! I heard them speak at IACP in Portland a few years back with Michael Ruhlman - it was a great panel 🙂
I love this idea! Never thought of making a sauce this way. Definitely want to try this for dinner tonight!