This week I got a big bunch of fresh basil in the farm box. Fresh basil in October? I’ll take it. I used some of it to make a quick pesto to eat on Portobello mushroom “burgers” last night. I used the rest to make my favorite quick pasta dish: pasta with broccoli, feta and basil.
This is almost a non-recipe.
1) You put your pasta water on to boil
2) You get out a box of pasta — I like short pastas with this: farfalle, fusilli or penne. I use half a pound for two people because I like leftovers and because when we eat this pasta we eat it as a one-bowl meal.
3) While the water heats and the pasta cooks, wash and chop your broccoli into bite-sized pieces. How much broccoli? I can’t tell you that. How much do you have? How much do you like broccoli?
4) Crumble some feta cheese into a large serving bowl or two individual pasta bowls (You can make this for one, too — just use less of everything). I’m going to say four ounces of feta for two people, but if you want to use more, use more. The more cheese, the better it is, really.
5) Squeeze the juice of one or two lemons over your cheese.
6) Grind some black pepper over the cheese if you like pepper.
7) Do a quick chiffonade of basil leaves into the cheese.
8) Throw your chopped broccoli into the pasta water in the last minute of the pasta’s cooking. Cook one minute only.
9) Drain pasta and broccoli
10) Toss with feta and basil mixture, or put in individual bowls and stir like mad with a fork to distribute cheese. The cheese melts a little on the warm pasta, releasing the perfume of the basil.
Food Notes: This is best to eat in late spring and early fall, whenever you have the intersection of fresh basil and broccoli and lemons, but I make it in deep winter, too, substituting dried oregano and red wine vinegar for the basil and lemons. It’s good with roasted red peppers or bits of sun-dried tomatoes added to it, too, which add color contrast and winter vitamins. I make this pasta with fresh green beans if I don’t have broccoli — that’s good, but the broccoli version is better. What you don’t need is any salt or olive oil: feta is plenty salty on its own and provides enough fat. Keep it simple.
This is really good made with whole wheat pasta, too, which I buy whenever I find it on sale.
Please come back on Friday for a Halloween surprise.
I, too, like these types of dinners. 1 pot, 1 bowl. No muss, no fuss. And delicious!
Thanks, John. Sometimes it’s good to keep things simple. I haven’t seen anything from you lately — have I missed posts somehow?
Love this type of ‘non-recipe’ – sometimes all we need is to have a quick method in our mind, and improvise. I once made a broccoli pesto, but it was a lot more work, I never repeated that recipe again.
Nice to “meet” your blog, and absolutely adored the painting of your recipe. What a nice touch…
My other reply disappeared. Here it is again. Thank you. I make this a lot because it features four of my favorite things: lemon, feta, basil and pasta. I like broccoli, too, unlike a certain ex-President.
sorry, me again, had to leave another comment to be notified of new posts, could not figure out how to subscribe to your blog without doing this.
Please delete this comment if you want… 😉
Thanks for subscribing. I think the subscription box is all the way down at the bottom of the page (Wu Wei doesn’t have many options or widgets but it looks so good with art…). You found the box for Comment notifications already — just “unclick” it if you don’t want to see any comments. Best, Sharyn.
Pasta is always comfort food for me and dropping in some broccolli definitely adds some color and extra healthiness. I like your use of feta cheese as normally it would be parmesan for me. Being such a “non-recipe” the variations could be endless. Great post!
Thank you. I make this all the time. The feta and lemon (or vinegar) create a creamy sauce and it’s no work at all.
Remember the old days in the Mission District of San Francisco? One-pot dinners on artist budgets!
Ah, Bartlett Street, my home away from home, and Cafe La Boheme breakfast specials and that cafe around the corner on Valencia Street that changed names a couple of times — I learned to make vegan Mexican corn chowder from one of their incarnations — Radio Valencia, I think, but it might have been whatever it was before that.
Yum.
Was that “Yum” for the pasta or for vegan Mexican corn chowder, Saundra?
Sharyn,
What a great recipe! I am definitely going to make this on Saturday. Easy and delicious – no fuss, no muss. Thanks and love the accompanying painting.
Thanks, Jane. This recipe is one of my stand-bys. Hope you like it.
I just love the addition of your paintings, Sharyn. I look forward to them almost as much as the recipes! I appreciated the comment on not needing the olive oil, because I tend to automatically reach for it, whether needed or not. I love feta, so I’ll rely on that! What an easy, but very delicious recipe. Thanks! Debra
Thank you, Debra. This is music to an artist’s ears (and to a cook’s, too).
Can’t wait to try this one on my four children! I’m always searching for recipes we all love as we only have a small repertoire of dishes. I know they all love basil and feta, I think one is not a huge fan of broccoli but might be able to cope! Thanks. Love your blog!!
Good luck, JulieAnne. Kids are tough judges.
Sounds interesting enough to give it a try, I think my granddaughter might like it as she loves broccolli. Nice painting!
Hope it works out for you, Nancy. Thank you. P.S. I bought a few pencils today…
I needed a simple recipe and I have all those ingredients already. Sounds wonderful for the cold rainy evening we are expecting here in East Texas.
It’s good, Lorna, and so easy. Enjoy. — Sharyn
I’d totally forgotten to bookmark your site, sorry about that. What a nice autumn recipe. Looking forward to the halloween surprise!!
Just remember it is a Halloween surprise. That’s all I’m saying today…
Great, I love pasta with broccoli, just had this today for lunch.
Yay!
I love 1-pot dinners. They are a great, feel-good option for enjoying slowly, next to the keyboard, as I write an article. Have you heard of the new “super broccoli” called Benecol? May I as what are your thoughts on this?
Never heard of it, Granny. Sorry.
A lot of my favorites are here: pasta, fresh basil, broccoli, feta, lemon…I’m sold already! It’s easy and healthy. What more can anyone ask for?
Thanks, David. I eat it often.
Easy, convenient, and delicious. You’re 3 for 3!
Thanks, Daisy.
[…] Kale Chronicles featured an article titled, Broccoli-Feta-Basil Pasta: An Easy One-Bowl Supper. Images that accompany each entry are gouache and watercolors by the author and are inspired by […]
Love this recipe. I’m on a low-carb regimen, so I only allow myself pasta once a week and it has to be simple to prepare and delicious. This qualifies, so it’s my meal of choice for my next splurge day. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Cheryl,
If you make it with whole wheat pasta you get a better class of carbs for your splurge and more fiber. Enjoy it.
Good advice. Thanks!
[…] Kale Chronicles‘ Broccoli-Feta-Basil Pasta: An Easy One-Bowl Supper (West Coast […]