We have a ton of cookbooks, but because of our handy binder system, we rarely ever look at them. But every now and then we get into a dinner rut and end up combing our cookbooks in desperation. One of our favorites is Jamie's Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver. It's full of simple recipes with fresh ingredients, and we have yet to find a dud. We discovered this one last week, and everyone loved it. The original calls for tagliatelle but we used gemelli to make it more toddler friendly. We also added garlic, because - well - pasta without garlic should be a crime.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium potato
- 1 head of broccoli
- a large bunch of fresh basil
- sea salt
- 1 lb of gemelli pasta
- 1/4 cup green pesto
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
- 3 ounces Parmesan cheese
Directions:
To prepare your pasta:
- Wash and peel the potato and cut it into very thin shavings using a speed peeler
- Slice the end off the broccoli stalk
- Cut little broccoli florets off the head and put them to one side
- Halve the thick stalk lengthways, then slice thinly
- Pick the basil leaves and discard the stalks
- Grate the Parmesan
- Mince the garlic
To cook your pasta
- Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil
- Add the pasta and broccoli stalks and cook according to the instructions on the box
- Meanwhile, saute the garlic in the olive oil
- 2 minutes before the pasta is cooked, add the broccoli florets and potato slices
- Drain everything in a colander over a large bowl, reserving some of the cooking water, and return to the pan
- Roughly chop half of your basil leaves and add to the pan with the pesto, garlic, and half the Parmesan
- Give it all a good stir and if the sauce is too thick for your, add a splash of the cooking water to thin it out a bit
To serve your pasta:
- Divide the pasta between your serving bowls
- Sprinkle over the rest of the Parmesan and the remaining basil leaves
- Serve with a lovely big bowl of salad, and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's cookbook, Jamie's Food Revolution
