On busy weeknights, it’s always tempting to boil some pasta, toss it with a jar of marinara sauce and call it a day. A bowl of spaghetti in red sauce, topped with a dusting of Parmesan cheese, is a perfectly satisfactory meal, right? But the recipe below is just as easy to throw together and is way more than satisfactory. In fact, it's crave worthy.
I like to use spaghetti for this because the light sauce clings really well to the long, skinny noodles, but you can substitute any pasta you have. Other vegetables can be added – quartered artichoke hearts or halved cherry tomatoes, for instance. Use a Meyer lemon if you have one for a sweeter flavor.
Vegetarian Lemon Pasta with Pine Nuts and Broccoli
4
10 minutes
15 minutes
25 minutes
12 ounces dried spaghetti
1-1/2 cups chopped broccoli
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Grated Parmesan cheese
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Two minutes before the cooking time for the pasta is up, add the broccoli. Cook for the remaining 2 minutes and then drain.
Return the pasta and broccoli to the cooking pot and immediately add the butter and olive oil, tossing to melt the butter completely and coat the pasta.
Add the lemon zest and juice and stir to mix well.
Serve the pasta immediately, topped with the basil, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese.