I found yet another simple dinner made under 30 minutes that’s not only hearty and healthy but also tastes absolutely fantastic. It’s a quick and easy bow tie pasta dish with some fresh broccoli tossed with some good olive oil infused with garlic, lemon zest, and freshly squeezed lemon juice and topped with toasted almond slices and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. The lemon zest brought such refreshing bursts of flavor along with the hearty bites of broccoli and the enjoyable crunch from the almonds. Now who says healthy food can’t taste good?

Broccoli and Bow Ties (adapted from Ina Garten):

Yields 3-4 servings

  • 1 bunch broccoli (about 3 heads)
  • 1/2 pound farfalle pasta
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (I ran out of pine nuts so I used toasted almond slices)
  • Grated Parmesan, for serving

Cut the broccoli into small bite-sized florets.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook broccoli for 3 minutes. Remove the broccoli from the water with a slotted spoon or sieve; set aside.

In the same water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan.

Add the garlic and lemon zest and saute until the garlic begins to brown, about 1 minute.

Turn off the heat and add the salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Add the reserved broccoli and pasta; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Gently toss to combine.

Serve immediately, garnished with sliced almonds and Parmesan.

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