Broccoli and walnut orecchiette
Pasta is a fantastic vehicle for flavour and texture, and this dish is a great example of how combining foods can help your blood sugar response. There are plenty of healthy fats from the walnuts in the delicious and satisfying sauce, as well as fibre from the broccoli – both of which slow your blood sugar response. This is fuss-free, healthy cooking at its finest.
Overview
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
15 mins
Serves
2
Ingredients
100g orecchiette pasta
150g cherry tomatoes
80g walnuts
2 tbsp Bouillon, parmesan or nutritional yeast
1 large head of broccoli (350g), cut into small florets
Method
Step 1
Bring a large saucepan of salted boiling water to the boil and cook the pasta for 10 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, put the tomatoes, walnuts and Bouillon into a food processor with a pinch of salt and pepper and blitz until you have a chunky paste.
Step 3
After the pasta has been cooking for 10 minutes, add the broccoli florets to the pan and cook for 2 minutes longer. Drain, reserving about 100ml of the cooking water.
Step 4
Tip the walnut and tomato paste into the saucepan with almost all the reserved pasta water, mix and heat through for about 1 minute. Return the pasta and broccoli to the pan and toss to combine everything. Add a splash more water if needed, season with salt and pepper and serve.
Extracted from The Food for Life Cookbook by Tim Spector (Jonathan Cape, £28)
