Description
Homemade cheese pasta with broccoli celebrates comfort and nutrition in one delightful dish. Italian-inspired ingredients blend creamy textures with green vegetable goodness for a satisfying meal you can easily master in your kitchen.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound (16 oz) malfadine pasta
- 4 cups broccoli, shaved (about 1 head)
- 2 packages (5.2 oz) boursin garlic & herb cheese
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 1 tbsp salted butter
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- salt (kosher), to taste
- pepper (black), to taste
Instructions
- Pasta Preparation: Immerse pasta in vigorously boiling, generously salted water, cooking until perfectly al dente with a slight resistance when bitten, roughly 8-10 minutes. Reserve some starchy cooking liquid for sauce enhancement.
- Aromatic Foundation: In a spacious skillet, warm olive oil and sauté finely diced onions with red pepper flakes, coaxing out their sweet essence until translucent and softened, creating a fragrant base.
- Vegetable Integration: Introduce delicately chopped broccoli florets to the skillet, quickly sautéing to maintain their vibrant emerald color and crisp texture. Incorporate cold butter to establish a luxurious sauce foundation.
- Cheese Fusion: Crumble Boursin cheese into the skillet, gradually blending reserved pasta water to create a silky, smooth sauce. Adjust liquid proportions to achieve ideal consistency, stirring continuously for a uniform texture.
- Final Composition: Tenderly fold cooked pasta into the creamy sauce, allowing brief simmering to marry flavors. Elevate the dish with a zesty lemon juice splash and an additional sprinkle of red pepper flakes for a tantalizing flavor profile.
Notes
- Preserve Pasta Water: Save the starchy cooking liquid before draining, as it helps create a smooth, silky sauce and helps cheese blend perfectly with pasta.
- Broccoli Texture Tip: Quickly sauté broccoli to maintain its vibrant green color and crisp texture, avoiding overcooking which makes vegetables mushy and dull.
- Cheese Melting Technique: Crumble Boursin cheese gradually and stir continuously to prevent clumping, ensuring a creamy and uniform sauce consistency.
- Flavor Balancing Trick: Add fresh lemon juice and red pepper flakes at the end to brighten the dish, cutting through the richness of cheese and providing a zesty, aromatic finish.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5
- Calories: 468
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 724 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 14 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg