Fettuccine and Broccoli with Miso Pesto

Lorna Sass's The New Soy Cookbook is a notably omnivorous tofu book and it's just plain awesome. Miso pesto might sound weird to the soy uninitiated but, trust me, it just works and couldn't be any easier.

Fettuccine and Broccoli with Miso Pesto

• 1 head of broccoli
• fettuccine
• 1/2 cu. miso pesto (see below)
• ground pepper

Trim the broccoli into little florets. Cook the pasta. Once the pasta is nearly done, add in the broccoli and cook it right in the pasta water. Drain and dress with the pesto and some pepper.

Miso Pesto

Seriously, how did she come up with this?

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 cu. basil leaves
• 1/2 cu walnuts (toasted, cooled)
• 2 Tbs. barley miso
• 1tsp. fennel seeds
• 1/4 cu. olive oil

It's pesto, so you already know what to do: In your food processor, whiz up the garlic first, then add everything up to the oil and give it hell until it becomes a thick paste. Next, stream in the oil until you get the familiar consistency of pesto. She recommends that you let it set up for a while, which makes good sense, but even if you don't it will be terrific.