Sunday, July 6, 2014

Broad Bean Pesto

Broad Bean Pesto 1

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, we're whipping up Starters & Nibbles with Nigel Slater.  I knew immediately what I was going to make.  I had bookmarked Nigel's recipe in Tender Vol. I for "A green hummus" weeks ago, and this seemed like the perfect time to run with it.

I took inspiration from Nigel's recipe, but made a few changes to make more of a pesto out of it.  I didn't have the mint called for in the original recipe, so used parsley instead.  I also added in a bit of garlic, some freshly grated parmesan, and some toasted sunflower seeds.

Broad Bean Pesto 3

The resulting pesto was delightfully fresh and "springlike" - quite a joy in the middle of winter.  It makes a great snack or pass around with some raw vegetable sticks, corn chips, or spread on toasted, crusty sourdough bread.  It was also a delicious accompaniment to leftover roast chicken, and tomorrow night it will be turned into sauce for pasta.

This made a great alternative to my regular go-to hummus that I frequently turn to when I have friends around for nibbles, and this will definitely become a regular in my repertoire.

Broad Bean Pesto 2

Broad Bean Pesto Recipe
Inspired by recipe by Nigel Slater
from Tender, Vol. I
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

500g (18 oz) frozen broad beans
(if you're lucky enough to have fresh broad beans, even better)
large handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds
extra virgin olive oil
juice of half a lemon
flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Bring a medium sized pot of water to the boil.  Add broad beans to the pot, return to boiling, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.  (If you're using fresh broad beans, you will probably need to boil for a few more minutes.)  Drain, and refresh immediately in cold water.  Once beans are cooled, remove and discard the thick outer skins from the beans.

Place beans, parsley and garlic in food processor and blitz to a coarse paste.  Add parmesan and sunflower seeds, and blitz again.  Then with motor running, pour in extra virgin olive oil in a steady stream until you have a smooth paste consistency.

Remove from food processor, and stir in lemon juice, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

If you would like to get to know Nigel Slater a little better, and to see what everyone else has cooked up this week, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links ...


... or check out Tender, Vol. 1 and Nigel's many other great titles available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK, or Fishpond NZ.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the delightful Michelle at Ms. enPlace, at Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollum.

See Ya in The Gumbo Badge     Weekend Cooking Badge     Foodie Friday Badge

26 comments:

  1. I love pesto in any form. This is a new version to me and it looks good and sound yummy. I like the idea of using sunflower seeds.

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    1. Thanks, Beth. i love all kinds of pesto too, and I'm always looking for new alternatives to try. I often use sunflower seeds - they make a tasty but inexpensive alternative to pine nuts.

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  2. I usually make something similar except I don't add cheese and I use chickpeas instead. If I can find broad beans I will give this a try.

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    1. Chickpeas would be a great alternative to cheese in this dip, Janneke.

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  3. OOOH- this looks great. I love making different pestos and hummus recipes. I've never made one like this with broad beans. I only really tried them a couple of years ago, but have learnt to appreciate them.

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    1. Thanks, Louise. I love exploring different pestos too - I often make one like this with broccoli too.

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  4. El color ideal :=)
    Un saludito

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  5. Love all different kinds of pesto...this looks super!

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  6. I also came across the green hummus recipe, but I had already a broad bean and mint mash recipe on my blog, so I searched for the combination with dill. The idea of a pesto is great!

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    1. Thanks so much - I really liked your version with dill too.

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  7. This is such an interesting recipe, thanks for sharing.

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  8. I always love to expand my hummus repertoire--this one look so green and fabulous. I love all of the changes you made too--hummus or pesto, it more than works for me. ;-)

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  9. Yum! I wonder if edamame would work here? I can't find broad beans anywhere! Perhaps the frozen aisle, as you've suggested! I love the color of this pesto.

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    1. Susan, I'm sure this would be great with edamame. Actually, I seem to remember Joyce from Kitchen Flavours making an edamame dip for one of our earlier challenges - something I keep meaning to try.

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  10. What a wonderful pesto, love that you used sunflower seeds here, I bet this is lovely!

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    1. Thanks, Cheri. I love using sunflower seeds, or sometimes brazil nuts, as a cost effective alternative to pine nuts in pestos.

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  11. Hi Sue,
    I like the vibrant colour of the pesto! And love it that you've used sunflower seeds. Having it with pasta sounds really delicious to me!

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    1. Thanks, Joyce. It was totally delicious over pasta - I put some whole broad beans in as well, which gave it a little extra texture.

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  12. You had me flummoxed for a while till I realised you had used frozen broad beans. That said, I have beans in my garden with the weather being so warm and wet. Love Broad bean Dips.

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  13. Oh yes please! That delicious green goodness would brighten up any day! At least here the torrential rain seems to have abated & each day we are treated to a few more moments of daylight :) I do hope all is good down Nelson way xx

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  14. I love how you change up the recipes, Sue. The sunflower seeds were a great addition for sure. I know I would enjoy this with crackers, veggies, and bread. I can also see how it would pair well with chicken and/or fish, particularly salmon. So many uses for something like this and the color is stunning!

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  15. Learned something new. I thought ALL hummus was made with chickpeas... I will def have to try this one out.

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