When I was just in New York, I went out to Connecticut to see my Dad’s best friend and his family.  “Mrs. B” always makes this incredible pasta!  It’s so good I literally eat like 3 bowls every time she makes it.  It’s soooo good!  This is one of those dishes that is filled with so many memories!  When I make it I do alter it just a little.  I add fresh parsley and basil and I usually end up making it with brocolini instead of broccoli.  But that doesn’t matter because it’s still dripping with butter and lemon!

Pasta with Broccoli and Lemon

Serves 6

What you’ll need:

1 lb. pasta (I use bowties because that’s what “Mrs. B” uses, but penne, rigatoni, or even linguini would be nice)

4-5 heads of broccoli (you can very this a lot by how much you like broccoli), cut up into bite size pieces

1 stick of butter (or earth balance it you are making it vegan)

4-5 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 lemon, zested

the juice of 1 lemon (ps use the one from above so all you need is 1 lemon)

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

a handful of fresh parsley, chopped

about 5 leaves of fresh basil, sliced into thin strips

What you’ll do:

Steam the broccoli in a large pasta pot until just fork tender (the broccoli will continue to cook, so don’t over cook!).  Remove from heat.  Using a slotted spoon, remove all the broccoli and set aside in a bowl.  Now fill the pot with more water and cook the pasta in the broccoli water.

In a smaller pot, melt butter and add olive oil and garlic.  Saute on medium low for a few seconds and add the lemon zest.  Turn the heat down to low and add the lemon juice. (it’s going to bubble a lot)

When the pasta is al dente, strain it and return it to the big pot.  Add in the cooked broccoli and stir in the lemon/butter sauce.  Toss in the chopped herbs and pine nuts.  Serve immediately.

I hope you enjoy as much as I always do!

**Side note: I cook the pasta in the vegetable water because my Grandmother always does.  She says that the vegetables lose most of their nutrients when you steam them, but if you boil your pasta in the same water, the pasta with re absorb the nutrients.   This may or may not be true, but I always hear her voice in my head when I’m cooking : )

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