Thursday, February 3, 2011

Broccoli and Zucchini with Pesto

I've launched a little food-related project in conjunction with the folks at Fooducopia, a site where small food producers sell their products. My part in this is that I'll be creating recipes specifically for products sold on the Fooducopia site. This recipe features Bianca's Gourmet Pesto Piccante.

Pesto elevates a simple vegetable dish to something company worthy. The first time I ever had pesto, it was in an Italian restaurant that served broccoli with pesto as one of its many side dishes. I couldn't get enough of it - I thought it was a perfect paring.

Since then, I've had pesto with everything from appetizers to pastas to sandwiches. But somehow I keep pairing it with broccoli, whether that broccoli is on its own, or whether it's part of a pasta dish. Here, the broccoli and pesto are the stars of the dish.

This particular pesto has a bit of heat - a touch of red pepper add a kick and a little bit of color as well. You don't need a lot to add a lot of flavor.

Broccoli and Zucchini with Pesto

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups small broccoli crowns, blanched and shocked
1 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch coins, then cut in half
3 tablespoons Bianca's Gourmet Pesto Piccante
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Heat oil in medium frying pan on medium heat. Add broccoli and zucchini and cook stirring often, until broccoli is cooked to your desired doneness. Add pesto and stir to coat.

Transfer to a serving dish and squeeze on lemon juice. This can be served immediately, while hot, as a side dish, or served cold as a salad.

Note: for a lower fat and lower calorie dish, you can steam the broccoli and zucchini rather than cooking in oil.

To be clear, I'm not reviewing or endorsing the products in this recipe. I've created the recipe for Fooducopia to post its site and I'm re-posting the recipe here for my readers as well. Then again, since I created the recipe, rest assured that I liked it. I don't cook stuff that we're not going to eat.
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