One of my favorite pasta dishes is the all too common pasta con broccoli. I came across a recipe from someone at my first job after graduating from college (in 2000! that seems so long ago!). I took the recipe home, gave it a whirl and fell absolutly in love with it. I have made this pasta con broccoli dish so many times that I have the recipe memorized. It isn’t a complicated recipe either, it is easy peasy and can be quickly made right before dinner.
I really cannot believe I have not blogged about this recipe yet. Brian has all the recipes from his Mom that he loved and I hope this recipe makes the book for my children to pass down someday. Because, I really haven’t tasted a pasta con broccoli better than this one. Here you will see the ingredients and how simple they will be to grab quickly at the store. Brian even picked me up a microwave steamer frozen broccoli bag, which made things even quicker!
I will break down the steps for you now, they are really simple. And, I don’t necessarily do them always in the same order. It is hard to screw this recipe up. First, I bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add bow-tie noodles until they are done. I drain the noodles and set them aside till later.
I don’t have a photo of this, but cook the mushrooms in oil under medium heat until done.
Melt a stick of butter in a pan
Add cream to butter
Add the mushrooms
Add steamed broccoli
Add entire can of Parmesan cheese
Mix in noodles and let it simmer a bit so the sauce reduces a little and thickens. Don’t forget to stir it occasionally, so you don’t burn the bottom of the pan.
And, there you go. The best pasta con broccoli you will ever have… I’ve made this for family, friends, etc. They love it! I love mushrooms, but you could make it without the shrooms. My daughter actually eat its without the mushrooms and the broccoli and loves just the cheesy noodles. My son used to call it dinosaur pasta when he was little because of the green broccoli. I didn’t get a photo of them, but Brian made some delicious rolls from scartch as a companion to our pasta.
Enjoy! I have added the recipe below:
Pasta con Broccoli
Carton of heavy whipping cream
Can of parmesan
Bag of frozen broccoli
Noodles
1/2 stick of butter
Sliced mushrooms
Vegetable oil
1. Boil noodles, drain
2. In seperate pot mix parmesan (use a lot), whipping cream and a 1/2 stick of butter
3. Add noodles to sauce, stir well
4. Cook broccoli as directed on package and add into pasta
5. Cook mushrooms in hot vegetable oil, then add to pasta
