Recipes from The Diet: Rice Noodles with Broccoli-Almond Pesto

Continuing with recipes from the failed diet experiment, I give you Broccoli-Almond Pesto! Yes, it does deserve capitalization. I was browsing through the magazine, and stopped on this recipe. It just sounded so odd, that it might actually be delicious. Well, it is delicious.

This recipe is great for lunch, and was really quite filling. I made it the night before, and the pesto did not congeal or anything (lack of dairy, I assume), so it was great the next day. Surprisingly, the pesto was easy to make: some boiled broccoli, toasted almonds, garlic (my addition, not theirs), basil and olive oil. This pesto was a lot nuttier than traditional pine nut pesto.

This may make a decent dinner recipe, though, it would need something to help bulk it out. Possibly bread. Possibly a chicken breast. Possibly both.

Rice Noodles with Broccoli-Almond Pesto via Whole Living

Ingredients

• 1 head broccoli, florets and sliced stems
• 6 tablespoons sliced toasted almonds
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 8 ounces medium rice noodles

1. Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook broccoli florets and stems until bright green and just tender, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and let cool slightly. (Reserve water.) Roughly chop 1 cup cooked florets; set aside. In a blender, puree remaining florets, almonds, basil, garlic, and lemon juice. Add olive oil. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
   
2. Return water to a boil and cook rice noodles according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, drain noodles, and return to pot. Toss with pesto, adding reserved pasta water until creamy. Top each bowl with chopped florets, small basil leaves, and remaining almonds. Season with pepper.