Quick and Creamy Pasta With Broccoli
A super quick and easy creamy pasta tossed in a creamy parmesan sauce with fresh broccoli.
Equipment
Pot for boiling/steaming short pasta and broccoli florets. A wide pan to make sauce and toss everything in.
Ingredients
- 1 large head Fresh broccoli cut into florets - or 2 small heads. steamed/cooked
- 1 16oz box Rotini Pasta - cooked to package directions
- 1 1/2 cups Half & half
- 1 /2 tsp Coarse sea salt
- 1/2 tsp Ground pepper
- 1 tbsp All purpose flour
- 1 tbsp Softened unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp Fresh ground parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder - optional for flavor
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine softened butter and flour with a spoon until a thick paste forms.
- Now, in a wide 4 qt pan over low heat pour in half & half cream. Whisk in the flour/butter paste until combined with the cream. Toss in salt, pepper, and ground parmesan cheese. Sprinkle in a pinch of garlic powder, if desired. Continue whisking over medium heat until sauce is slightly thickened and the nuttiness of the flour is cooked out. Do not bring to a boil. After about 7 to 10 minutes, sauce should be just thick enough to coat your spoon but still drizzly.
- Once the creamy sauce is thickened and finished, add cooked rotini (or your favorite short pasta) and steamed broccoli to the same pan with the cream sauce. Toss everything together until coated and combined.
- Serve while hot and garnish with a little extra parmesan cheese or parsley over the top.
Notes
When preparing the sauce, don't let it come to a boil. Continue whisking it over a constantly even heat. This will allow the cream/butter/flour mixture to gently thicken over the course of time. I prepared mine over medium/high heat, constantly whisking until thickness was just good enough to coat pasta.
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