Garlicky Broccoli & Beans

This is one of my staple weeknight suppers: sauteed butter beans with garlic, lemon zest, bites of broccoli and courgette (zucchini), cherry tomatoes and homemade almond pesto. It sounds fancy, but once you’ve cooked this a few times it really will just take 10 minutes, and you’ll have a delicious, warming, colorful meal that you can make whenever you need something speedy. To make it heartier, serve it with quinoa or brown rice, and for extra greens, wilt some spinach in at the end.

For the beans:
  • 1 head of broccoli, thick stalk removed
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely diced
  • Olive oil
  • 2 14-ounce cans of butter beans
  • 12 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 small courgette (zucchini), grated
  • 1 tablespoon plain non-dairy yogurt
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper

For the pesto:
  • 1/3 cup almonds, toasted
  • 2 garlic cloves, roasted
  • Handful of fresh basil
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 6-10 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
 
  1. To make the pesto, simply add all the ingredients to a blender, season with salt and pepper and blitz until smooth. If you’re using a large, or less powerful blender, you may need more olive oil or water to let it blend easily.
  2. Cut the broccoli into small, bite-sized pieces; the smaller the better in this recipe.
  3. Blanch the broccoli by simply covering it with boiling water and letting it sit for 2-3 minutes until it has softened but still has a good bite, then drain.
  4. Add the garlic to a large frying pan on a medium heat with a generous drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. Let this cook for about 2 minutes, then add the broccoli, butter beans and cherry tomatoes. Stir in the courgette, yogurt, lemon zest, pesto and pepper.