Lemon Broccoli Pasta is a Healthy and Tasty Meal

I started making this lemon broccoli pasta recipe a number of year ago. We love pasta and I am always trying to come up with lighter, healthier sauces. I also try to have a few vegetarian meals during the week and this is a favorite among my family.

If you add some chicken, shrimp, or beans, you can have a complete meal in one bowl. If you are looking for frozen broccoli recipes, I typically use frozen broccoli for this particular recipe because I always have it in the freezer and I tend to make this during the week. There are a few vegetables that I think are really good frozen and broccoli is one of them. I usually use chicken stock for this but I have made it with vegetable stock and it is equally good. Give this a try and let me know what you think.

Lemon Broccoli Pasta

Ingredients

1 lb short pasta. (I used the spirals called Cellentani)
1 lb fresh or frozen broccoli florets. If using frozen, thaw and blot with paper towels to remove excess water.
4T olive oil.
5 large cloves of garlic. (we like a lot of garlic)
About 1 cup stock (chicken or vegetable).
1t of salt (or to taste)
1/4 to 1/2 t hot pepper flakes (optional)
juice of half to a whole lemon (we like it lemony).
2 T freshly chopped herbs. Parsley, thyme and basil work well)
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese plus more for the table.

Instructions

Heat oil to a skillet and add the garlic and hot pepper flakes.
Cook at medium heat stirring until the garlic has softened.
Add the stock and salt and cook until slightly reduced.
Cook Pasta in salted water and cook according to box instructions.
When the pasta is almost done, add the broccoli to the sauce and cook until broccoli is at the doneness that you prefer. (We like the broccoli with a little bite)
Add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir. If it is too dry, add some of the pasta water.
Stir in the cheese, lemon juice and herbs. (Don’t add the lemon unless you ready to eat immediately because the lemon turns the broccoli yellow. It doesn’t affect the the taste but it won’t look as pretty).
Serve with extra cheese at the table.
Enjoy!

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Thalia and Bob