Very Green and Creamy Broccoli Sauce With Pasta

During this past week I've thought of so many things that I could put on my blog for you, but each time something was not quite right.

There was the Grape-and-Onion-Focaccia Bread I made for a vegan potluck-dinner this week, but actually I had not changed much in the recipe and you can find the (really good!!!) recipe on boxofspice. I can only recommend that, so have a look over there :-)
Second, I made a curry, but the cabbage in it did definitely not any bonus points to its taste...
Last night I roasted rutabaga/swede for the first time ever in my life and had that with some chickpeas, but that really was the very first stage of testing something and it needs some more goes. But I've got some ideas there! Some greens, orange zest and a dressing... hmmm!
This morning I made my favourite banana rolls, but they didn't seem 100% right to me even though they usually are great. So far, though, I've only eaten some crumbs (don't ever use greaseproof paper when you run out of baking paper - better go to the shop and get some...) and have frozen the rolls for lunches. So I haven't really tested the batch yet.

But that's the way it is - no trials, no fun ;-)

Today, though, I had broccoli sauce with pasta for dinner and it actually turned out the way I liked it to so that I can safely tell you how I made it.

This sauce makes broccoli taste so much better than any steamed broccoli you often get as a side dish. The mint gives it a fresh tang which fits in so well and the colour is simply amazing!

As I like pasta with a lot of sauce it was more sauce with pasta than the other way around, but feel free to adjust the ratio if you feel differently!

I blended the sauce in a high-speed blender - otherwise I recommend blending the cashew nuts before adding any other ingredients. Alternatively you could use cashew nut butter instead.
Nutritional yeast you can get in a health shop. I use it, because it has a slightly cheesy flavour, which I think is very nice! If you cannot find it and don't mind cheese you might like to use a small bit of parmesan (I haven't tried that, though!).

pasta with broccoli sauce

for 1	for 2	for 4	servings of pasta (about 130 g each)
			mint, to taste
3/4 cup (ca. 130 g)	1 ½ cups (ca. 260 g)	3 cups (ca. 520 g)	broccoli, florets or pieces, stems can also be used
1/8 tsp	¼ tsp	½ tsp	salt
3*	6*	12*	pepper (turns of the grinder)
5-6	10-12	20-24	cashew nuts
1- 1 ½ tsp	2-3 tsp	4-6 tsp	nutritional yeast
¾ - 1 tsp	1 ½ - 2 tsp	3 – 4 tsp	lemon juice, to taste, start with less
			olive oil (a small bit)
¼ tbsp	½ tbsp	1 tbsp	butter
1	2	4	garlic cloves

• Steam the broccoli until soft (about 14 minutes). If you don't have a steaming basket you can use a metal colander/sieve and a matching pot with lid.
• Heat butter on low heat in a small pot and sauté garlic until fragrant. Do not leave it unattended! It takes only about 2 minutes and it burns very easily!
• While the broccoli cooks, put all other ingredients, including the garlic and butter, into a blender (see note above about cashew nuts).
• When the broccoli is soft, retain the steaming liquid. Add broccoli and a bit of liquid to the blender.
• Blend until very smooth. Adjust amount of liquid and seasonings to taste.
• Cook pasta, drain and mix with the sauce.

This sauce also freezes well.

I would love to hear how you like it!