Baked pasta with broccoli is great; I love baked pasta and, given the cold weather, I make it often, changing the vegetables or the pasta shape so I always have a tasty and easy first course to bring to the table.
You can get ahead by cooking the vegetables and cutting the cheeses, then assemble everything just before serving — and I’ll tell you a secret: I make it, cook it and once it’s cold I freeze it, then I take it out a few hours before and reheat and gratinate it in the oven and it’s as good as freshly made. Try it yourself!!
Let’s discover the recipe as usual right after the photo.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 35 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 11 oz Pasta (short pasta)
- 1 Broccoli
- 1 1/4 cups Béchamel sauce
- 5 oz Latteria cheese (Or Asiago or any other fresh melting cheese)
- to taste Salt
- to taste Black pepper
- 4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 oz Parmigiano Reggiano DOP
Tools
- Pot
- Baking dish square or rectangular ovenproof baking dish
- Slotted spoon
- Oven
Preparation
To prepare the baked pasta with broccoli, first clean the broccoli by removing the large, tough stalk.
Don’t throw it away — in a few days I’ll give you a recipe to use it.
Then separate the broccoli florets and cut the large ones in half.
Cook the broccoli florets in plenty of lightly salted water for 10 minutes, no more.
After 10 minutes, lift the broccoli florets out with a slotted spoon and reserve the cooking water, which you’ll use to cook the pasta.
Set the broccoli aside for the moment.
Cook the pasta, stopping its cooking at least 3 minutes before the suggested time (al dente); once cooked, drain it and put it in a large bowl.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the béchamel following my recipe for microwave HERE, or make your trusted recipe.
Now preheat the oven to 428°F, cut the cheese into small pieces and add it to the pasta in the bowl; also add the broccoli, season with salt and pepper and plenty of extra virgin olive oil.
You are now ready to bake the baked pasta with broccoli: grease the bottom of a glass or ovenproof dish with a little béchamel and a drizzle of oil, then turn the pasta with the broccoli and cheeses into it.
Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the top and bake on the middle rack of your oven for at least 30 minutes, turning the grill on for the last 10 minutes to help form a golden crust.
Remove the baked pasta with broccoli from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving and..
ENJOY YOUR MEAL
Annatorte suggests
You can also add a few fresh basil leaves to the seasoning. If you like, you can sauté the broccoli with a clove of garlic after boiling them.
STORAGE
Baked pasta with broccoli keeps in the refrigerator for 2 days when stored in an airtight container.
You can freeze the baked pasta with broccoli, but leave it slightly undercooked before freezing.
OTHER RECIPES
HERE and also HERE you can find OTHER recipes with broccoli. If you want to see other types of recipes you can return to HOME
