Last night's dinner: fake alfredo and broccolini

Fake alfredo is perfect for when you want something rich and creamy that's ready in approximately the same amount of time that it takes to cook some pasta and that takes the bare minimum of dishes and effort to cook. I like to have a pile of unadorned vegetables on the side when I have something rich, but if I don't have any fresh veggies, I'll add frozen peas to the pasta cooking water right before it's done.

I had never had broccolini before. I figure that every time I go to the co-op, I'll buy something I haven't had before and see how that goes. I had always thought it was basically just fancy broccoli, but it turns out it's a naturally occuring hybrid of broccoli and Chinese kale: who knew? It's fine, but I found it a little bland. It's more expensive than regular broccoli, but not special enough to justify it. I did like that it has a long, edible stalk and that I could eat it with my fingers like asparagus though.

Lazy Girl's Fake Alfredo with Steamed Broccolini
Step 1: Cook one serving of pasta. Wash and chop vegetables while it's cooking.
Step 2: Drain pasta; immediately put an inch or two of water back into the saucepan, drop the steamer in, put the vegetables in and put it back on the stove, covered.
Step 3: Put pasta in bowl, add a pat of butter and stir to coat.
Step 4: Add grated parmesan and toss until pasta is coated.
Step 5: Drizzle just enough heavy cream over pasta to moisten it—a tablespoon maybe? Two? Not more than that. If you don't hate black pepper (I do), I imagine you'd like to add some here.
Step 6: Steps 3-5 take me about four minutes, which is the right length of time for steaming broccoli, broccolini or leafy greens. Take the veggies out of the steamer, sprinkle with whatever—I like just a teensy bit of salt, but herbs or lemon juice or sesame oil or soy sauce or vinegarette are all good.

Comments

[Gina]

Hmm...I really need to start stocking the larder with some heavy cream, more gluten free pasta and a host of little frozen veggies! So quick and tasty! I like broccolini better than regular broccoli for the tactile part as well. I like eating with my hands when possible.