Creamy green kale, broccoli and pea pasta
Here is a quick vegetable-packed pasta recipe for stressful weekdays. Most people think of pasta as something carb-heavy and rich but this dish is fresh and light. The vegetables get blanched along with the pasta and we then blitz some of them into a sauce that becomes a creamy base for the pasta.
20 MINUTES | SERVES 4 | EASY | V LC
bucatini (or pasta of your choice) 250g kale or cavolo nero 4 large leaves (about 50g), stalks discarded
garlic 1 clove, peeled
frozen peas 75g, defrosted basil or flat-leaf parsley a handful of leaves
mint a handful of leaves, plus extra to serve
extra-virgin olive oil 3 tbsp
lemon ½, zested and juiced nutritional yeast or vegetarian parmesan 4 tbsp, plus a little extra
broccoli 200g, broken into florets hazelnuts or pine nuts a handful, toasted and chopped
1 Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Once boiling, cook the pasta following pack instructions. Halfway through cooking, add the kale to the pan, along with the garlic clove. After about a minute, use a pair of tongs to remove the kale and garlic, along with a cupful of the pasta water.
2 While the pasta continues to cook, put the kale and garlic into a blender, along with half the peas. Add the basil, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast (or parmesan) and 4 tbsp of the reserved pasta water. Blend until smooth but not too runny. If it gets too runny, add more peas, herbs or cheese to thicken.
3 When there are a few minutes left of the pasta’s cooking time, add the broccoli and remaining peas to the pan to cook. Drain the pasta and veggies in a colander, then return them to the pan. Pour half of the green sauce over the top and stir. Divide the remaining sauce between four plates and spread out into round puddles. Top with the pasta, then scatter over the toasted nuts, along with some fresh mint leaves and a grating of parmesan or some more nutritional yeast. Finish with some lemon zest and freshly ground black pepper.
PER SERVING 362 kcals | fat 10G saturates 1.5G | carbs 51.1G | sugars 4.1G fibre 7G | protein 13.4G | salt 0.1G
low cal | low salt