BKM – Whole wheat farfalle with parsley pesto, steamed broccoli and thinly sliced prime rib

Last night we had one of my favorite comfort foods – farfalle with parsley pesto, steamed broccoli and thinly sliced prime rib.  Now I know what you’re thinking – thinly sliced prime rib.  The reality is we are trying to cut down on our meat intake so the pile of thinly sliced prime rib, psychologically speaking, works for me.  To my Italian friends and fellow foodies – yes parsley pesto.  No basil or nuts, but the refreshing taste of parsley in this mix is outstanding – Chef Josh, can you believe I’m actually saying this about parsley!?  Thanks!

I used the BKM to make the pesto then the steamed broccoli.  Simple really – parsley, garlic, parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, salt/pepper and a jalapeno pepper.   This is one of those times when extra virgin olive oil will really make a difference, a really good use of the product.  Farfalle works well with this pesto.  It is shaped like a bowtie or butterfly and traps sauce in the gatherings in the middle.  I must admit I didn’t make the pasta from scratch, I used a whole wheat dry pasta.  The prime rib was made the day before.  So, on to the recipe and my BKM usage.

Parsley Pesto
1 bunch parsley – washed well and dried on paper towels
½ – ¾ cup Parmesan Cheese – grated (I used a Parmesan Cheese from Quebec, aged for 2 years, but Parmigiano-Reggiano is what most will use.  I just feel that when we have a Canadian product of good standing, we should be using it.)
4 – 6 cloves of Garlic
½ – ¾ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil – this is money well spent
1 Jalapeno Pepper, roughly chopped
Squeeze of Lemon
Salt/Pepper to taste

Put the parsley, garlic, cheese and jalapeno into the BKM mixer jug with the chopping blade attachment
Set the timer for 10 seconds and the speed level at 5 – repeat this processing a couple of times until the parsley is chopped to your liking – I like mine with just a little bit of texture
Remove the measuring cup, set the timer for 10 seconds, speed 3 – and pour in the olive oil
Remove the cover of the jug, wipe down the edges and taste
Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper – taste, season and taste again 
Scrape into a bowl, cover and refrigerate – ensure there is a layer of oil on top of the pesto or the pesto will quickly discolour

Steamed Broccoli
2 bunches of broccoli, florets and stems – washed, cleaned and cut into pieces – just shake it dry – I made extra for those evenings I’m not home for dinner, all my wife has to is warm it up

After scraping the contents of the jug out, don’t wash it, just add 1 cup of water and put the jug back into the BKM – the smell of the pesto left in the jug is absorbed by the broccoli – delicious, not to mentions adds the steam created adds a delightful aroma of parsley, garlic and olive oil to the kitchen
Lock the steam container in place, using the larger steamer basket, spread out the broccoli, it will still contain water from the washing so this is an ideal time to sprinkle with salt and pepper
Cover the steamer with the clear plastic lid
Set the temperature to 100, the speed at 1, and the timer for 4 minutes
Check the broccoli at 4 minutes, if it needs more, do it in one minute increments – I’ve tried this a couple of times and it gets done really quickly as it gets closer to the done stage – so if you are more comfortable with using shorter intervals i.e. 30 seconds or less at a time, go for it.  There are very few foods I can think of that I like less than overcooked broccoli.

Plate the meal simply as below or do as they do in the fancy eateries and stack the roast beef on top of the pasta with the broccoli strategically and visually balanced on the side – yeah right!  Family style also works just fine, just bring the entire prime rib to the table and cut as needed to prevent drying – keep it covered with foil.
As always – enjoy!