Broccoli Rabe/Walnut Pesto and Linguine

Deb | 01/20/2014 | Reply

Tweet #vegan

Broccoli Rabe and Walnut Pesto Sauce Over Linguine

Created by:

Admin

Recipe Type: Light Meal

Cuisine: Italian

Number Servings: 4

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 35 mins

Traditional pesto pasta is given a vegan twist and a nutritional upgrade from use of broccoli instead of basil. Serve over one of the many plant-enriched pastas on the market (quinoa, amaranth, brown rice, artichoke, etc.) and use vegan non-dairy cheese for a delicious pasta dinner.

What You Need

⅓ cup and 2 Tbsp small walnut pieces
½ pound broccoli rabe , trimmed
1 clove garlic
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
⅓ cup plus 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of crushed red pepper
⅓ cup vegan Parmesan cheese , plus more for serving
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
¾ pound linguine

How to Do It

Preheat oven to 350°. Spread the walnuts in a pie plate and toast for 8 minutes, until fragrant and lightly golden; let cool. Chop 2 Tablespoons of the walnuts and set aside.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the broccoli rabe until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and let cool under cold water.
Squeeze out the excess water and coarsely chop the broccoli rabe.
In a food processor or blender, mince the garlic. Add the ⅓ cup of walnuts; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the broccoli rabe, olive oil and crushed red pepper and process until the broccoli rabe is very finely chopped.
Add the ⅓ cup of vegan Parmesan and pulse just until combined.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Scrape the pesto into a large bowl.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the linguine until al dente. Drain, reserving ¾ cup of the pasta cooking water.
Add the linguine to the pesto sauce, then stir in the reserved cooking water and toss until the pasta is well coated with the pesto sauce.
Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts and serve immediately, passing more of the vegan Parmesan at the table.