Broccoli, I don’t eat it nearly enough as I should. But it’s such a great vegetable and extremely healthy, so this weeks A-Z recipe is one with Broccoli.
This is what Wikipedia has to say about the nutritional value of broccoli:

“Broccoli is high in vitamins C, K, and A, as well as dietary fiber; it also contains multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties, such as diindolylmethane and small amounts of selenium. A single serving provides more than 30 mg of Vitamin C and a half-cup provides 52 mg of Vitamin C. The 3,3′-Diindolylmethane found in broccoli is a potent modulator of the innate immune response system with anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer activity. Broccoli also contains the compound glucoraphanin, which can be processed into an anti-cancer compound sulforaphane, though the benefits of broccoli are greatly reduced if the vegetable is boiled more than ten minutes. A high intake of broccoli has been found to reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Broccoli consumption has also been shown to be beneficial in the prevention of heart disease.”

Wow, isn’t that amazing, it’s like a super vegetable!

The recipe I’m making this week is Pasta with Broccoli Pesto. It’s a delicious recipe I found on one of my favorite food blogs 101 Cookbooks. I like this recipe because it uses broccoli in a way I wouldn’t have thought of myself. I added a good handful of fresh basil leaves, cause I love basil

Ingredients (for about 4 servings)
1 medium head of broccoli (about 3 cups), cut into very small florets, you can also use the stems, since they will be processed anyway.
50 g walnuts, toasted
50 g Parmesan, freshly grated
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 teaspoon + fine grain sea salt
100 ml extra-virgin olive oil
250 g dried pasta (bite-sized – fusilli, penne, etc)
a handful of fresh basil leaves
a handful of oily black olives, pitted
more Parmesan for serving

Bring two pots of water to a boil, one large, one medium. In the medium pot you’ll cook the broccoli, the large can be used for the pasta.

To cook the broccoli, salt the boiling water and add the broccoli. Cook for just twelve seconds. Drain immediately and run cold water over the broccoli to stop the cooking. Reserve a few of the small broccoli trees and puree the rest in a food processor along with the walnuts, Parmesan, garlic, basil leaves, lemon juice and salt. Drizzle in the olive oil while still blending. Taste, adjust with more salt or lemon juice if needed and set aside.

To cook the pasta, salt the boiling water generously and add the pasta. Boil until just barely tender. Drain, transfer the hot pasta to a large bowl. Gently stir in about half of the pesto. Taste, add more pesto to your liking. Served topped with olives, the reserved broccoli florets, and a dusting of Parmesan cheese.



Ingredienten (voor ongeveer 4 porties)
1 medium krop broccoli, gesneden in hele kleine roosjes, je kan ook de stronk gebruiken aangezien de broccoli toch gepureerd wordt.
50 g geroosterde walnoten
50 g Parmesaanse kaas, vers geraspt
1 teentje look
sap can een halve citroen
1/4 theelepel zeezout
100 ml extra-virgine olijfolie
250 g gedroogde pasta (fusilli, penne, etc)
een handvol verse basilicum blaadjes
een handvol ontpitte zwarte olijven
nog meer Parmesaanse kaas om te serveren.

Breng 2 potten water aan de kook, een grote en een iets kleiner. In de kleinder pot ga je de broccoli koken, in de grotere de pasta.

Zout ‘t water in de kleinere pot en voeg de broccoli toe. Kook voor slechts 12 seconden. Giet onmiddellijk af en hou onder koud water om ervoor te zorgen dat de broccoli niet verder kookt. Hou een aantal broccoli roosjes opzij en pureer de rest in de keukenmachine samen met de walnoten, parmesaanse kaas, look, basilicum blaadjes, citroensap en het zout. Giet d olie erbij terwijl je de pesto pureert. Proef, en voeg meer citroensap of zout toe indien nodig.

Kook de pasta al dente. Giet af en doe de pasta in een grote kom. Voeg ongeveer de helft van de pesto toe. Proef, en voeg eventueel nog meer pesto toe. Dien op met de olijven, de opzij gezette broccoli roosjes en nog wat extra parmesaanse kaas.

With the whole cupcake experiment I’ve been neglecting my general cooking skills a little bit, somehow ending up cooking the same old fare. So to shake it all up a little bit I decided to start another little project. Every week I’ll try to use an ingredient starting with a letter from the alphabet, try out a new recipe and share it with you guys

This weeks ingredient has to start with an ‘A’. At first I wanted to do something with artichokes, but I have to admit that the recipe didn’t turn out that well, ooops. So I decided to make something with avocado instead. Avocado is perfect to add to salads, or making sushi with, or as I will do here to make delicious dip with. I know, a dip isn’t exactly like a real dinner kind of recipe, but on the other hand if you’re going to eat some not-so-healthy chips in front of your telly or at a party, might as well balance it out a little bit with this super healthy and easy to make avocado & lime dip

Really, I didn’t know much about avocados, but reading up on it, I discovered avocados have so many health benefits:
- It protects cholesterol related heart diseases. It reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
- It is used both in prevention and treatment of prostate and breast cancers. Scientists have proved that a toxin in avocado kills the cancer cells. So-called toxin has a great effect on the tissues, particularly heart muscle tissues.
- Avocado includes necessary minerals like potassium, calcium, vitamin C and K, folic acid, copper, sodium and dietary fibers. These are used to provide the mineral necessity of the body. People who live in hot climates have great mineral and water loss. So, avocado is suggested strongly by the medicals.
- Oleic acid in avocado can be used to lower cholesterol level in the blood.
- Potassium in avocado regulates pressure of blood.
- Sodium reduces the risk of high blood pressure and stoke.
- It improves the ability of the body to absorb carotenoids.
- Avocado is used to help people who have sexual problems.
- It is a good antioxidant.
- It can be used in the treatment of skin disorders
- It is used to heal people who suffer from digestive and circulatory problems.



Ingredients (this make about 3 times the amount shown in the picture)
3 ripe avocados
2 tbsp fresh lime juice , that’s about 2 juicy limes
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 garlic clove , crushed
½ tsp sea salt
olive oil for drizzling
natural tortilla chips or other chips or crackers

Cut the avocados in half lengthways, remove the stones and peel. Put the avocado in a food processor with the lime juice, Tabasco, garlic and sea salt. Blend until you have a light, elegantly pale green cream. If your avocados were not very ripe yet, the dip will be a little bit lumpier, but still very tasty.
Transfer the cream to a bowl, cover and chill until ready to serve. To serve, drizzle with a little oil. Serve as a dip with tortilla chips or other crackers.