My little one was just waking up from his late afternoon nap and Louis took Jowell with him for a quick trip to the store, so I had to make something quick and easy. I still had to feed Lennox but I also didn't want to have dinner too late. Skimming through my fridge I noticed that I had a head of broccoli and some asparagus that I didn't want to go bad so I decided to throw together a pasta dish.
I grabbed the asparagus (a great tip to keep your asparagus fresh for a long time is to cut about an inch of the bottoms, put them in a glass of water like you would flowers and keep them in the fridge, it will keep them nice and crisp) and broccoli, a box of mini penne, 1 1/2 cups of ricotta, 1 lemon, extra virgin olive oil, salt, a few cloves of garlic and some Parmesan cheese (I forgot to add that in the picture)
I boiled some water for the pasta, make sure to generously salt the water. Chop up the broccoli and asparagus, I placed them in the mini steamer my parents got me (I love that little machine, I use it almost daily), steam them for about 10 minutes or until tender but not too mushy.
I added the pasta to the boiling water and cooked until al dente. Pour the pasta into a colander and pour a little olive oil over the pasta and toss to coat.
I heated some olive oil in a pan and sautéed the chopped garlic over medium heat (I would normally use way more garlic than pictured but unfortunately I think I lost my mind today because I can't for the life of me remember where I put my garlic, I seriously looked everywhere and it was just gone...I have a feeling Jowell has something to do with the missing garlic).
Add the steamed asparagus and broccoli to the pan.
Add pasta to the pan along with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. I added a bit more salt at this point but that's just my preference.
In a bowl add the ricotta, 1 tsp of zest from the lemon and a pinch of salt, whisk until smooth.
Place the pasta mix in a bowl add a dollop of the lemon ricotta. Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese and squeeze some lemon juice over the pasta to add a little zing.
It was a nice light meal, and Louis almost ate all of it. I tried to get Jowell to take a bite, instead he insisted on taking his bowl of honey bunches of oats and sitting on the floor to eat....As a mom that could pretty much cook anything my kid wants, I end up with the kid that hates to eat almost anything I make, hopefully Lennox isn't as picky when he is older.
Pasta with asparagus, broccoli and lemon ricotta
1 box of mini penne
1 head of broccoli chopped into small pieces
1/2 lb of asparagus chopped into three sections
4 garlic cloves minced
1 lemon
1 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 cups ricotta
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over pasta
Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt generously.
Chop broccoli and asparagus into bite size pieces.
Steam for 10 minutes
Pour pasta into boiling water and cook until al dente.
Pour into a colander, drizzle some olive oil over the pasta. Toss to coat.
In a pan add olive oil and sauté minced garlic over medium heat.
Add asparagus, broccoli and a pinch of salt to the pan. Mix together.
Add the pasta along with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and a little more salt depending on preference. Toss together.
In a bowl add ricotta cheese, lemon zest and salt. Whisk until smooth.
Place pasta in a bowl, top with a dollop lemon ricotta, Parmesan cheese and a squeeze of lemon juice.
The inspiration for this dish was from this site: http://www.athoughtforfood.net/pasta-broccoli-rabe-lemon-ricotta/
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