- Ingredients:
- 240 g macaroni
- 12 walnuts
- 400 g of prawns
- 1 garlic
- Basil
- 1 small broccoli
- 2 tablespoons grated light cheese
- 1 dash of dry white vermouth
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
One of the reasons why a pasta dish can make you fat is not the pasta itself, but the sauce that accompanies it, which can be as much or more caloric.
In this sense, pesto sauce can be one of those caloric bombs unless you prepare it as in this recipe that we propose. The secret to lightening it is to substitute the classic Parmesan cheese for light cheese and the pine nuts for walnuts. And of course, don't go overboard with the amount of pasta. About 60 g per person.
So you have a much lighter dish, while still being very nutritious at the same time thanks to the pasta and prawns. And therefore, a very good option if you are looking for a balanced recipe that will serve you as a single dish with all the necessary nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins and fiber, along with the vitamins and minerals that its ingredients contain.
How to do it step by step
- Cook the broccoli. Wash it, separate it into twigs and remove the trunk. Cook it in salt water for about 10 minutes and drain it.
- Prepare the pesto. Wash the basil. Peel the garlic and walnuts. Finely chop the three and arrange them in the blender glass. Add 4 tablespoons of oil and cheese, salt and pepper and blend until you get a fine and homogeneous sauce.
- Sauté the prawns. Remove the skin, salt and pepper them and sauté them for about 3 minutes in a pan with 2 tablespoons of hot oil. Then, pour in the vermouth and continue cooking for 2 minutes until the alcohol evaporates completely. Finally, remove them from the heat.
- Cook pasta. Place the macaroni in plenty of boiling water and cook for the time indicated on the package. Drain and mix with the broccoli and shrimp.
- Plate and serve. To finish the dish, add the pesto that you made previously, stir and serve immediately.
Clara trick
Broccoli, al dente too
To prevent the broccoli from becoming too mushy and falling apart when mixed, you can steam it. And above all, do not discard the stem because it has as many nutrients as the rest of the broccoli and it is delicious, both cooked … and raw.
Yes, yes, raw too. The only thing you have to do is peel it, since on the outside is where all the fiber strands are concentrated that make it difficult to chew when raw. In some cultures, this stem is considered a delicacy and, since there is only one, they peel it and cut it into small sticks that are reserved to delight the little ones in the house.
Broccoli, a super food
Broccoli is also considered a super food. Apart from its vitamins and minerals, it has anti-cancer properties thanks to its sulforaphane content. That is precisely why it is more advisable to eat it raw or steamed, since cooking it considerably reduces the levels of this beneficial substance.
