Roasted Brassica Pasta

I've been making this a lot lately because I'm obsessed with it. It's quick and easy but SO good. I thought I'd throw the recipe up here because a few people have asked me about it and the short version fits in a tweet but here's a little more detail.

Tools needed

A sheet pan, a pot big enough to boil pasta & hold everything, a colander, cooking spoons

Ingredients

Garlic to your taste -- a lot, I usually use around 6 cloves, minced or pressed

A nice-sized shallot, or one onion, minced

16oz of nice, medium-sized pasta. I use Sfoglini pasta and I've tried Vesuvio, Cascatelli, and Trumpets and they all worked great but the Vesuvio was my favorite

1.5-2lbs of a hearty brassica such as brussels sprouts or broccoli

Olive oil (I didn't measure it at any point)

Any other veggies for sautee such as mushrooms

Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper

Lemon juice to taste

Parmesan for serving if desired

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425

Boil your pasta and set aside. Reserve a little bit of the pasta water to deglaze the pan if necessary, especially if you are adding mushrooms

Prep your brassica by slicing into bite-sized pieces and tossing wit olive oil, salt, and pepper

Spread out the brassica pieces on your sheet pan, and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes

Dry out the pot you used to boil the pasta and add enough olive oil to coat the whole bottom -- probably around 1/4th cup but I just eyeball it

Toss in the shallot and fry in the oil on medium heat until starting to brown

Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant and delicious

If using, add mushrooms or other veggies. If you're using mushrooms, they will absorb a lot of the oil and liquid in the pan and take a bit longer to cook. If they start to stick to the bottom of the pan, toss in a little bit of the pasta water to deglaze (just a small amount at a time, you don't want to get watery)

When everything in the pan is cooked to your satisfaction, toss in some italian seasoning and red pepper flakes and let them get into the oil for a moment

Turn off the heat, add your pasta back to the pan, and stir it all up. If you're using mushrooms you may want to toss in a little more olive oil at this point to make sure all the pasta gets coated, but it may not be necessary.

Once your brassica is soft and slightly browned on the outside, pop it out of the oven and (carefully) add to the pot. Stir it all up!

Toss in a little bit of lemon juice. I usually juice 1 lemon and use about half of it. Salt and pepper to taste if needed.

Serve with parmesan on top!

Notes

This makes a lot of pasta. In my household of 2 people it's about 4 or 5 servings. Obviously you can halve it. I highly recommend the Sfoglini pasta, it's a little pricier than your regular grocery store pasta but it's so worth it. If not using Sfoglini you could probably make this with penne or something like that.

-----

back to recipes

back to index