Lemon Broccoli Pasta

So with all of the eggnog & Christmas cookies consumed last month, it seems I had little time to actually record the Christmas season's culinary projects on this blog.  That's not exactly a surprise since I've never been good at updating regularly.  So, my new year's resolution is to make 2 new blog posts a month.  This seems like an achievable goal so I might actually do it.  And it means I'll be trying at least 2 new recipes a month.

To start us off, a super quick & easy pasta recipe.  This is a simple recipe so ingredients are key.  Freshly grated parmesan & good olive oil (we got some for Christmas!) will make a difference.  Other vegetables can be substituted for the broccoli...I'm thinking spinach or asparagus would both be good choices.  And feel free to use whatever type of pasta you have on hand.

Lemon Broccoli Pasta

1/2 pound dried pasta
2 heads broccoli  (or 1 bunch asparagus/spinach)
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic (use less if you're not a garlic fan)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes  (use less/none if you don't want the spiciness)
lemon juice
fresh parmesan cheese
salt & fresh black pepper

1.  Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  While waiting for it to boil, chop broccoli into eat-able size pieces.

2.  Add pasta to boiling water.  When the pasta is about halfway cooked, add the chopped broccoli to the same pot & continue cooking until pasta is fully cooked.  (This will result in broccoli that still has a little crunch to it.  If you're using spinach, rinse it & remove the stems.  Then add the spinach to the pot when the pasta has about a minute left to cook.)

3.  Drain pasta/broccoli, & reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water.

4.  Heat olive oil, minced garlic, & red pepper flakes in a skillet.  Watch this carefully, & remove from heat before garlic or red pepper flakes start to brown.

5.  Drizzle heated olive oil/garlic/red pepper flakes over pasta & mix.  Squirt some lemon juice & grate some parmesan over the mixture.  Add pasta water a little at a time to thicken the dish.  Add salt & pepper & more lemon juice & parmesan to taste. 

(If you want an even easier cleanup, skip step 3 & just drizzle some olive oil over the pasta with the lemon juice & parmesan.  And you'll only have 1 pot to wash.)

Makes 4 servings.