Penne With Broccoli and Some Ricotta for Good Measure

This is a recipe I made last week for a quick and easy dinner. And that it was. Recipes like these are going to be very helpful for me over the coming weeks, as it's Dancing With The Stars time again. Already you ask? Yes, thankfully. :) Anywho, I was looking for a veg recipe to fill in my weekly menu last week and I decided to go with this one, which had been on my to-try list for quite awhile. It's actually a recipe for one, so I just doubled it up and we were good to go. I ate mine with ricotta, and Josh ate his without. Either way, we both enjoyed it.

Penne with Broccoli
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 1













Coarse salt and ground pepper
3/4 cup penne
1 cup broccoli florets
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 small red onion, cut lengthwise into 1/2" thick slices
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese, room temperature

• Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add penne, and cook 2 minutes less than package instructions for al dente; add broccoli. Cook 2 minutes or until penne is al dente and broccoli is bright green. Reserving 1/2 cup pasta water, drain pasta and broccoli; set aside.
• In the same pan, heat oil over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until onion is tender and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add pasta water as needed to help loosen any browned bits from bottom of pan.
• Add penne and broccoli, and cook until warmed through; season with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta mixture to a serving dish. Top with ricotta; season with salt and pepper.