Lemon broccoli pasta is an easy and tasty pantry meal.
Hello, everyone. We have another really good recipe for you today. This one is lemon broccoli pasta by The Barefoot Contessa. This dish is so easy that I made it for lunch one day. I had all of the ingredients on hand, including the pine nuts. By the way, you can substitute sunflower seeds, pecans or walnuts for the pine nuts. Also, to add more protein to this recipe, baked chicken breast cut into small bits or steamed shrimp would be great. We so enjoyed this lemon broccoli pasta and hope you do, too.
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 8 cups broccoli florets (4 heads)
- 1/2 pound farfalle (bow tie) pasta
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup toasted pignoli (pine) nuts
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional (I used feta)
Instructions
- Cook the broccoli for 3 minutes in a large pot of boiling salted water. Remove the broccoli from the water with a slotted spoon or sieve. Place in a large bowl and set aside.
- In the same water, cook the bow-tie pasta according to the package directions, about 12 minutes. Drain well and add to the broccoli.
- Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan, heat the butter and oil and cook the garlic and lemon zest over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Off the heat, add 2 teaspoons salt, the pepper, and lemon juice and pour this over the broccoli and pasta. Toss well. Season to taste, sprinkle with the pignolis and cheese, if using, and serve.
You can easily cut this recipe in half if you don’t want to make this much. I will add, though, that it was just as good the next day. Also, other than spaghetti or linguini, any kind of pasta will do. Just use what you have in your pantry. Add a salad and some muffins like these, and you will have a lovely meal for your family. Expect to get rave reviews.
We have made it through another week of the crazy. We hope you are all doing well and staying healthy. Walking and bicycling have really helped on our end. Just getting out and smelling fresh air is such a high. Thank you so much for spending part of your day with us. We really appreciate it.
Take care.
This is one of my all- time favorites. It is the the Basics selection of my Beth Cooks cookbook, ( which is a three ring binder where I put all the recipes I make regularly) such a handy guide book. I am glad you shared this. I made it last week to finish off my dinner leftovers from The Holly Hill Inn’s pick-up.
I’m going to make it this weekend!
I don’t blame you. We love it, too!
Is it a typo “2 teaspoons salt”?
Kathleen, we went back and checked her original recipe, and it does call for 2 teaspoons salt. However, I always just salt to taste so you can add as much as you want. Hope this helps.