A very simple supper...broccoli & pea casarecce with creamy lemon sauce

Grace and I were making our way through the supermarket when I spotted the most vibrantly green mound of fresh broccoli I'd ever seen. I greedily filled a bag with the broccoli and then somehow managed to wrestle it from her tightly gripped little hands with no tears. The sound of plastic bags fascinates her, I'm still trying to understand why. 

During our laps of the supermarket I also nabbed some beautifully fragrant lemons and plucked a beautiful looking bag of casarecce from the shelf and knew instantly what we'd be cooking. A very simple supper of broccoli pea casarecce with lemon cream sauce. 

I adore this recipe, not only is it unbelievably delicious but it's the kind of supper that's ready to enjoy in under twenty minutes. Oh did I mention its a no cook sauce. Bliss.

With Grace happily nestled in her high chair at the edge of the kitchen I speedily and effortlessly put dinner together. This recipe begins with boiling water and that's as difficult as it gets. Once the water was boiling I added a big pinch of salt and the entire bag of pasta, a couple of minutes later I dropped the broccoli florets and peas into the bubbling pasta pot.  Whilst the pasta and vege were happily bubbling away I got on with the sauce which simply meant placing the cream, parmesan, eggs, lemon zest & juice and a little black pepper in a bowl and stirring.  

Once aldente I drained the pasta/ broccoli mix and added it to the cream mixture. Dinner done. To serve I added some freshly torn basil leaves and a little more freshly grated parmesan.  

Grace and I then nestled on the couch to enjoy dinner together.  And enjoy we did. The lemon cream sauce is so surprisingly light and zesty and is delicious with the just cooked broccoli and peas. And I also really adore the shape of the casarecce, it's perfect design drinks up the creamy citrus sauce beautifully.   On a cool autumn evening, enjoying a warm bowl of delicious pasta in less than twenty minutes...simple supper perfection. 

Broccoli & pea casarecce with creamy lemon sauce

INGREDIENTS

500 grams casarecce (or any other short pasta you'd like...penne or fusilli would be fabulous too)

1 head broccoli, cut into florets

2 cups frozen peas

250ml cream (I use lactose free for my hubby)

1/2 cup parmesan, grated 

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

Zest and juice of 2 lemons 

Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

To serve parmesan & basil leaves 

METHOD

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add a big pinch of salt and pasta. After a couple of minutes add broccoli and peas.

Meanwhile, in a bowl combine cream, parmesan, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and some freshly ground black pepper, mix to combine.

When the pasta is cooked, reserve a cup of the cooking liquid then drain the pasta.  Add the drained pasta to the cream mixture and stir to combine. If the pasta looks a little dry add some of the reserved cooking liquid.  Try the pasta to check seasoning and add sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. To serve, sprinkle with a little more parmesan and fresh basil leaves. Enjoy. X