Name: Mushroom Broccoli Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 4 ounces (1 cup/114g) mini penne pasta or other bite sized pasta; 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets (1 small crown); 2 TBS butter, divided; 4 ounces (1/4 pound/114g) white mushrooms, sliced; 1 TBS plain all purpose flour; 1 cup (240ml) chicken stock; 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream; 1/2 tsp granulated garlic or garlic powder; 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning; 1/4 tsp fine sea salt or to taste; 1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste; 1/4 cup (45g) grated Parmesan cheese; 1 TBS chopped fresh parsley; Additional grated Parmesan cheese to serve

Hello there! I could hardly wait to show you this delicious recipe I am sharing with you today! I get a newsletter every week from Barefeet in the Kitchen. In it the author Mary Younkin shares some of the goings on her life and links to several recipes. Some hers, and some from other pages.

In her latest newsletter she shared this recipe for Mushroom Broccoli Pasta which was from a site called Vegetable Recipes. As soon as I saw it I knew that I wanted to make it!

So much so that I immediately ran next door to the Farmer's market to pick up some fresh mushrooms. Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever been inspired to make a recipe on the day you discover it?

I sure hope so and I hope that I have inspired you in that same way from time to time!!!

First of all I loved that there was no meat in this recipe. I don't always like to eat meat. I am often perfectly happy with just vegetables and potatoes or rice or pasta. If the sauce is rich and delicious enough you don't need any protein.

This sauce sounded just rich and tasty enough that I knew it wouldn't need any protein and it contained some of my favorite things such as broccoli, mushrooms and pasta!

I also felt that I could easily adapt it to feed few people than six, and so I cut the recipe in half to serve only three.

I liked that I could use any type of pasta that I wanted to use, so long as it was shortish. I had a box of Garofalo Cappellitti pasta that I thought would be perfect for this recipe.

It is round and has a cup shaped center which is perfect for holding sauces. I love pasta and when I see any kind of pasta that has a different shape to it I will scoop it up!

This worked perfectly but any short type of pasta would work.

I loved also that it used broccoli. Broccoli is one of my favorite vegetables and so good for you! It is not a vegetable that we had at all when I was growing up. My father would only eat certain vegetables. Green Beans, carrots, corn and peas.

He now eats all kinds of vegetables because he eats at my sister's house every night and she makes him eat whatever she cooks, which means healthy and often a vegetable he is not overly fond of! lol He eats it anyways, and will just say, that's not my favorite!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE MUSHROOM BROCCOLI PASTA

There is nothing complicated about this. I am sure you probably have everything in your larder/refrigerator to use right now!

4 ounces (1 cup/114g) mini penne pasta or other bite sized pasta
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets (1 small crown)
2 TBS butter, divided
4 ounces (1/4 pound/114g) white mushrooms, sliced
1 TBS plain all purpose flour
1 cup (240ml) chicken stock
1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
1/2 tsp granulated garlic or garlic powder
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp fine sea salt or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste
1/4 cup (45g) grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBS chopped fresh parsley

To serve:

Additional grated Parmesan cheese to serve

I am sure you could use frozen broccoli if you wanted to, but you wouldn't have to add it to the cooking pasta until about a minute before it is done. Basically just to thaw it out and cook it a tiny bit. You want the broccoli to stay crispy tender.

Use any shortish pasta. I think one that will grab the sauce and hug it is best of all. I chose to add the Parmesan to the sauce. The original recipe didn't specify this, so I went with my gut instincts and then just sprinkled a bit of Parmesan on the top when it was done.

HOW TO MAKE MUSHROOM BROCCOLI PASTA

I streamlined the instructions and made it so that you could have the pasta cooking in a saucepan while you made the sauce, adding the broccoli to the pasta at the end so that when drained you could just toss them both together and serve.

Put a saucepan of lightly salted water on to boil.

Melt 1 TBS of the butter in a skillet. Add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium high heat, until golden brown. Remove to a bowl lined with several paper towels. Set aside to drain.

Melt the remaining TBS of butter in the skillet. Add the flour, whisking it in until smooth. Slowly whisk in the chicken stock. Increase to medium high and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes.

In the meantime add your pasta to the boiling water and cook to al dente as per the package instructions. Add the broccoli florets about a minute before the pasta is cooked. Drain well, but do not rinse.

While the pasta is cooking, add the cream, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to the chicken stock sauce. Bring to a simmer and simmer on low, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. The sauce will start to thicken slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.

Remove from the heat. Toss in the drained pasta and broccoli and the mushrooms, tossing everything together to coat. Serve hot, topped with additional parmesan cheese. (See notes)

Notes

You can add diced cooked chicken, flaked salmon, tuna, or ham to this if you wish.

This was very delicious. I think I ate half of the whole lot!! One and a half servings! I loved that it was so simple and quick to make and yet tasted like I had spent hours on it.

If you are looking for a quick and easy main vegetarian dish, this fits the bill perfectly. I think it would also be a great way to use up some leftover proteins if you are so inclined such as salmon, or chicken, even ham!

Some other simple, quick and easy pasta dishes here in The English Kitchen that you might enjoy are:

PASTA E PISELLI - Fabulously tasty, quick and easy. Simple too. This recipe only calls for frozen peas, chopped onion, pasta, water and some cheese. You could call this Pasta and Peas.

MARTHA STEWART'S ONE PAN PASTA FOR TWO - Everything cooks all together in one pan. Linguini, basil, red pepper flakes, cherry tomatoes, onion and seasoning. Simply delicious.

Yield: 3

Author: Marie Rayner