Recipe: Prof Tim Spector's Broccoli & Walnut Orecchiette

Pasta is a fantastic vehicle for flavour and texture, and this dish from the Food For Life Cookbook is a great example of how combining foods can help your blood sugar response. There’s plenty of healthy fats from the walnuts in the delicious and satisfying sauce, as well as fiber from the broccoli – both of which slow your blood sugar response. This is fuss-free, healthy cooking at its finest.

Ingredients

• 100g orecchiette pasta

• 150g cherry tomatoes

• 80g walnuts

• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast or parmesan

• 1 large head of broccoli (350g), cut into small florets

• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted boiling water to the boil and cook the pasta for 6 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes, walnuts and nutritional yeast/parmesan into a food processor with a pinch of salt and pepper and blitz until you have a chunky paste.

3. After the pasta has been cooking for 6 minutes, add the broccoli florets to the pan and cook for 2 minutes longer. Drain, reserving about 100ml of the cooking water.

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.

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