EAT YOUR GREENS

Recipe: Broccoli al Spinach Tortellini con Pesto (it’s Italian!)

Time Taken: 15 mins

Ingredients: Broccoli, green pesto, spinach & ricotta tortellini

Readers!

It’ssss the WEEKEND. And it’sssss WINTER so it’s 8pm and it’s been dark for HOURS. Readers, literally hours. Daylight’s suddenly become this luxury. Did it go dark this early last year?? I don’t think it did. And where have all the leaves gone? Who MOVED the leaves? What is happening?

Today, my throat has STILL BEEN SORE. But (touch wood) I’m on the mend! Also today readers I BOUGHT MY CHRISTMASS DRESSSSS. So much excitement! I bought it I bought it I bought it. I seriously bought that thing, I did. I bought it good. BIG STYLE. I shopped!

My baby <3 <3 <3

This is the dress that’s going to carry me through multiple Christmas do’s with family and friends and coursemates and flatmates and goodness know who else. It has a lot of work to do. This dress has to define my Christmas 2014. No doubt, this dress has got a lot of eating and a lot of drinking to endure and a lot of me wobbling about Northern England in skyscraper heels!  I wish it luck.

After so much shopping today I was knackered. I needed a dinner that would give me a boost. But I lacked any motivation to cook. Hmm. AND THEN GENIUS STRUCK.

I chucked some stuff together and, for once, came up with something that I really enjoyed eating. And this was a dish that took under 15 minutes to whip together, it counted towards my 5-a-day, it was filling and indulgent, it cost about £1.25 to make a portion, and it was SO GREEN.

 

Read all about it…

1. Take your head of broccoli and cut off half of its little stalks. Put the rest of the broccoli back in the fridge for another day. Put your chopped broccoli pieces into a sieve.

2. Boil a kettle of water. Shallowly fill the bottom of a saucepan with water and place over a heat.

3. Rest your sieve-full of broccoli over this saucepan of boiling water and place a saucepan lid over the top of your sieve, covering your broccoli. Leave to steam for ten minutes.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: Make sure the bottom of your sieve rests above the boiling water and isn’t submerged in it. Otherwise, you’ll boil your broccoli and it will turn soggy. Steamed broccoli has more of a crunch. Far superior.

4. After a five minute break, boil the kettle again. Tip half of your pack of tortellini into a saucepan, pour boiling water over this and heat on a hob for two minutes. Heat a plate in the microwave.

5. Drain your pasta using a colander and return it to its saucepan. Stir a tablespoon of green pesto into the pasta. Serve onto your warmed plate. Add the broccoli from your sieve to the plate. Tuck in!

Here’s how mine looked…

And a close up of the goodness!

I know this recipe isn’t moving mountains, readers. It’s very simple and has probably been done a million times. Maybe you’ve done it yourself a million times! But I just enjoyed this so much. And it cost barely anything and filled me up to the brim. I think this is the perfect way to finish off a day of rugby-scrum Christmas shopping.

Give it a try? See what you think? In my opinion, never has an entirely green plateful of food tasted so good. In your opinion, ….? Comment what you really think! Can anyone make anything tastier for this little money?? Can it be done?

Eat your greens safely,

Hayley