Ingredients

• ½ cup pine nuts

• 2 cups broccoli florets

• 2 heaping cups fresh basil

• 4 cloves garlic

• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

• ½ cup olive oil

• Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

• Salt, to taste

• Puff pastry, 2 sheets

• 1 egg, beaten

Steps

1. Toast ½ cup of pine nuts on a small tray at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes or until golden brown

2. Blanch 2 cups of small cup up broccoli florets in a large pot of boiling water for 2 minutes

3. Drain the broccoli and immediately shock it to prevent it from cooking further

4. Add 2 heaping cups of fresh basil to a food processor and all the cooled and drained broccoli

5. Put the lid on the bowl and grind the greens together

6. Open the bowl and give the crushed basil and broccoli a stir to ensure everything gets pureed and combined

7. Add in the toasted pine nuts, 4 whole cloves of garlic, and ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese

8. Blend again to puree and incorporate 

9. While the food processor is running, drizzle in a ½ cup of olive oil 

10. Remove the lid to stir the pesto - it should be creamy and smooth

11. Season the pesto with some crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste and blend once more to combine

12. Roll out 2 sheets of defrosted puff pastry dough on a piece of parchment paper until they are thin and almost translucent and both even in size

13. Place one sheet on top of the other and cut out a large Christmas tree shape being sure to also cut away the bottom and sides for the base of the tree

14. Before removing the excess scraps, use a star shaped cookie cutter to cut out a star for the top of your tree

15. Carefully take the top puff pastry layer off the bottom layer

16. Spread about 1 cups worth of the fresh broccoli basil pesto on top of the puff pastry Christmas tree in a thin and even layer

17. Carefully place the second cut out tree on top of the pesto and affix a star at the top of the tree

18. Cut even branches on both sides of the pesto Christmas tree being mindful to not cut all the way across the tree. The branches should be about 3 quarters of an inch thick

19. Twist the puff pastry branches one to two times pushing down on the end so the branch stays put until you have finished twisting all the cut branches

20. Brush the entire top surface of the puff pastry Christmas tree with a layer of the beaten egg

21. Bake the pesto Christmas tree in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes and remove from the oven when golden brown

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