Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli Pasta with a Lemon Butter Sauce

First things first: If you don't like lemons, you will not like this dish, so turn away now. Now, for those of you still with me, I'll tell you why you will like it: it's creamy, buttery, and oh-so-lemony. Rich, roasted vegetables and pasta come together in a bright, summery sauce that's perfect for you lemon-lovers. Toss in some chicken or shrimp for protein or add a side salad with a lemony vinaigrette to add a little oomph to this dish.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 8 oz. pasta of your choice (farfalle, penne, or medium shells would be a good choice—I used farfalle)
• 2-3 cups cauliflower florets
• 2-3 cups broccoli florets
• Approx. 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (just enough to lightly coat the broccoli and cauliflower)
• Zest and juice from 1 lemon
• Approx. 1/2 stick butter
• 2 tbsp. chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. garlic powder, or more to taste
• 1 tsp. thyme, or more to taste
• 1 tsp. white pepper, or more to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Spread the cauliflower and broccoli florets on an ungreased baking sheet, toss with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for at least 15 minutes. In the meantime, bring a medium pot of water to a boil, then add the pasta and cook according to package instructions (about 8-11 minutes). While the pasta is cooking and the veggies are roasting, heat the butter and garlic in a small pot over medium heat. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, chicken broth, and seasonings to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Slowly add the heavy cream, whisking it in. Add more heavy cream, butter, or seasonings as desired and reduce to a simmer. If you'd like to thicken the sauce, add a mixture of 1 tsp. cornstarch and 1/4 cup water to it. The sauce, as is, will taste very lemony, but once it's tossed with the pasta and veggies, it will get toned down. When the pasta is done, drain it and return it to the pot. Add the roasted veggies and toss with the lemon butter sauce. Serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino-Romano cheese as desired.

This dish is very light, with a clean, bright flavor that's perfect combined with the rich taste of the roasted broccoli and cauliflower. This is the sort of meal that you should enjoy while sitting out on the porch on a warm summer evening.

Recipe: Pecorino-Romano Cheese Sauce

The other night, we had thawed chicken breasts, leftover grilled veggies, and three cups of heavy cream crowded together in the fridge, and for me this was just another night of "how can I pull these things together to create a dinner that tastes good AND helps clear out the fridge." The answer was simple: Make a sauce with the cream and toss it with the chicken, veggies, and maybe some pasta (which, of course, we always have on hand in the pantry). So, sauce. Cheese sauce made the most sense. But what kind of cheese? Well, I had an assortment to choose from— Gouda, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Jarlsberg—and I chose Pecorino-Romano, craving its distinct salty flavor. A little garlic, some onion and seasonings, and a splash of chicken broth added to the cream and cheese mix created a velvety, salty sauce that brightened up lightly-seasoned chicken and previously-grilled veggies.

Yields: About 1-1.5 cups
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. butter
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• Approx. 1/4 cup chicken stock/broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2-3/4 cup shredded/grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper (or more, to taste)
• 1 tbsp. dried basil (or more, to taste)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano (or more, to taste)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Cornstarch (mixed with water; as needed)

Directions

In a medium pot over medium-low heat, melt the butter, then add the garlic and onion and cook for approx. 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is fragrant and slightly soft. Add the chicken stock, then slowly whisk in the heavy cream and increase the heat to medium. When the mixture starts to bubble slightly around the edges, slowly add in the cheese, whisking constantly. Increase the heat slightly and continue to whisk until the cheese is almost completely melted. Whisk in a little regular milk if the mixture seems a little thick or lumpy. Add the white pepper, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper and whisk to combine. Let the mixture cook over medium to medium-high heat until thickened. If it seems a little thin, add a little bit of cornstarch (mix about 1 tsp. cornstarch with about 2 tbsp. cold water, then add it to the sauce). Serve over chicken, pasta, rice, vegetables, potatoes, etc. 

This sauce is creamy, salty, cheesy, and surprisingly light despite the heavy cream. It may seem quite salty and strong when tasted straight from the pot, but once tossed with warm pasta or poured over roasted red potatoes or a grilled chicken breast, it's absolutely perfect—bright and flavorful. We had it as a pasta sauce, tossed with pieces of sauteed chicken, whole wheat farfalle pasta, and grilled vegetables (squash, zucchini, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and onion) and it was ridiculously tasty. We had some sauce leftover, so we ate it over breaded chicken breasts and roasted new potatoes the next night, and it worked so well. Despite being a cream sauce, its bright, cheesy flavor works well in warm weather dishes.

Recipe: Fettuccine and Sweet Italian Sausage in a Parmesan-Leek Sauce

I saw a recipe for Winter Pasta with Chorizo while browsing through recipes on Tastespotting. Intrigued by the use of leeks and cabbage in a sort of pesto-cream sauce hybrid, I saved it to my "Recipes to Try" Pinterest board and decided yesterday, a drizzly, chilly Valentine's Day, would be the ideal day for this warm, wintry pasta dish. I made homemade fettuccine (with help from my pasta maker) and tweaked the ingredients just a bit to make it just right, and the result was a delicious, light but flavorful pasta dish, permeated with the delicate, onion-y taste of the leeks and the nutty, slightly tangy flavor of Parmesan cheese. Sweet Italian sausage is packed with flavor and just a touch of heat, and it paired well with the creamy sauce and medium-width pasta noodles.

Yields: 4 servings
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Food processor

Ingredients

• 2 leeks, washed/soaked with the tops cut off, cut into big pieces (peel apart the layers of the leek and soak them in a large bowl—leeks are incredibly dirty, so they need to soak to get clean)
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 cabbage leaves, removed from stalk and washed or two small handfuls of pre-shredded cabbage (I found a bag of shredded cabbage for coleslaw, with no other veggies included)
• 3 tbsp. oregano leaves
• 1/2 tsp. dried grated lemon peel
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1-4 tbsp. heavy cream
• 2-3 links (casings removed) or approx. 1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage, pulled into small pieces 
• Olive oil and butter, for cooking the sausage
• 8-12 oz. fettuccine
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• White pepper, to taste

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add the leeks and garlic and cook them for 3-4 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes—everything will be tender when done. Use a slotted spoon to quickly remove the leeks, cabbage, and garlic when they're done cooking, and put them in a food processor. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon peel, Parmesan, oregano leaves, and heavy cream to the food processor and pulse to blend. Add salt, pepper, and white pepper, to taste. Once blended (the mixture won't be completely smoothe—it'll have a little texture to it), transfer it to a medium saucepan and heat over low heat. While the sauce is cooking, heat a little olive oil and about a tbsp. of butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat, then add the sausage and cook until browned and cooked through. While the sausage is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the fettuccine according to package instructions, then drain and return to the pot. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss to combine, then add the cooked sausage and toss to combine. Serve with a little Parmesan cheese and fresh oregano.

The sauce is the star of this dish—that soft onion-y flavor of the leeks, the fresh oregano, nutty Parmesan, and earthy cabbage create a unique flavor and texture that's sort of like a creamy, light pesto, or a textured cream sauce. Sweet Italian sausage adds texture and more flavor to the dish and fettuccine is the prefect pasta for this meal. The sauce can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge up to a few hours before use, and the meal reheats wonderfully.

Recipe: Sour Cream Garlic Sauce with Chives

This creamy sauce, made with a little chicken broth, sour cream, garlic, chives, and a handful of other ingredients, is meant to go with the potato and cheese pierogi with kielbasa, but it could easily be served over potatoes, as a pasta sauce, or as a dip for chicken. It's really easy to pull together and it's incredibly flavorful.

Yields: About 2 cups
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1 and 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup chives, fresh or dried

Directions
Heat the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally and watching to make sure it doesn't brown. When fragrant and slightly soft, add the flour and continue to stir until it is well-incorporated into the butter and the mixture is golden yellow and no longer has a floury taste. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, whisking the mixture until it is well-blended, creamy, and slightly thick. Add the salt and pepper, then whisk in the sour cream until well-blended. Add in the chives, then serve.

This sauce is salty, buttery, and creamy, and almost has a slight bacon taste to it (not sure why though, but it's good!). It was absolutely perfect on the pierogi and kielbasa and it could easily be used as a sort of alfredo sauce alternative on pasta or as a creamy gravy for potatoes or rice.