Creamy Arugula and Broccoli Pasta with Lemon
Arugula and broccoli pasta in a luscious lemon cream sauce. Serve this delicious pasta as a main vegetarian dinner or as a side dish paired with a meat main course such as grilled chicken or pork. Elegant enough for a special occasion but easy enough for a weeknight, creamy arugula pasta with tender broccoli and sweet tomatoes is a very useful recipe to have in your repertoire.
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Why this recipe works
This is a favorite dish of mine because despite the pasta and cream, this creamy pasta tastes surprising light and is very seriously delicious. Peppery arugula is one of my favorite greens, and I especially love it in this creamy pasta recipe with no need to heat the oven, easy preparation, and it’s ready in less than 30 minutes.
Light and lemony usually evokes feelings of spring and summer, but arugula and broccoli are fall to early spring season veggies. So, this dish is perfect in those fall months when foods tend to get heavier in flavor I feel, and I love to pair with rich dishes like braciole or pot roast.
About the ingredients
This recipe uses a combination of pantry staples, dairy, and fresh produce:
Pantry staples:
- Extra virgin olive oil. Unsalted butter is an alternative.
- Salt and pepper. Kosher salt is best; sea salt is an alternative. I do not recommend table salt, especially iodized table salt.
- Ziti. Penne or bowtie pasta are alternatives.
Dairy ingredients:
- Heavy cream.
- Parmesan cheese. From the dairy section — in other words, not the kind in the green shaker container.
Produce:
- Zest and juice of a lemon.
- Garlic. Fresh garlic is best for this recipe.
- Broccoli.
- Arugula.
- Grape or cherry tomatoes.
How to make creamy arugula and broccoli pasta
See the recipe card below for full details, but in a nutshell we are doing the following:
First we cook the garlic in the oil, then add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Give this a little simmer and it will thicken right up.
While the above is happening, we cook the pasta. Then we toss everything together and are done. Super easy recipe, great even for beginners.
Tips
Cutting the broccoli into small florets and bite-sized pieces ensure the broccoli will cook tender (but retain texture and a bit of crunch) while cooking.
Be sure to set your kitchen timer to 2 MINUTES LESS than what the pasta directions say. At that point, add the broccoli to cook in the water with the pasta for the last 2 minutes, and drain it all together.
The recipe card says the tomatoes should be halved, but if they are really large or extra long (like my grape tomatoes often are), then you may want to cut into thirds or even quarters.
Creamy Arugula and Broccoli Pasta with Lemon
Equipment
Ingredients
For the creamy lemon sauce
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large garlic clove, chopped 10 grams
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 pinches fresh cracked pepper
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (plus additional to finish) 27 grams
For the pasta
- 8 oz dried ziti
- 1 head broccoli, cut into small florets 270 grams
- 1 cup loosely packed arugula, chopped 30 grams
- ½ pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved 145 grams
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and golden (less than a minute).
- Add the cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer, turn the heat to medium, and simmer 5-10 minutes until it just starts to thicken. Add the cheese and remove from the heat.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook to al dente per the package directions. During the last two minutes, add the broccoli to the pasta to cook as well.
- Drain the pasta and broccoli and transfer to the skillet with the lemon cream sauce. Add the arugula and tomatoes. Toss well and season to taste.
- Serve warm topped with more parmesan.
