Change of plans with a quick pasta dish...

Do you ever have one of those nights where nothing sounds good and you don't feel like making a big mess to clean up later, yet you don't want to get take out? Well, tonight was my night and I pushed the scheduled dinner we were suppose to have to tomorrow and opted to throw together this no-fuss Campanelle with Broccoli, Roasted Garlic and Pine Nuts instead.

Including the obligatory salt and pepper, there were just 8 ingredients to this dish and the only thing I needed to wait on was roasting a head of garlic. If you happen to have a toaster oven (which we do!), it works well to do this without heating up the kitchen. I also toasted the pine nuts along side the garlic during the last few minutes to get that out of the way.

While the water for the pasta was coming to a boil, I cut off the broccoli florets needed and made an airy mound of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with our snazzy microplane grater. To save on dishes, the broccoli is dunked into the same salty pot of water with the pasta during the last couple of minutes. Before draining the two, save about a quarter-cup of the starchy cooking liquid. All of the ingredients are placed back into the same pot you cooked the pasta in (bonus!) and tossed together with the reserved liquid to add moisture. The buttery nuggets from the pine nuts added a needed richness since this dish is fairly light even with the sharp flavor from the cheese. To help distribute it better, I would suggest mixing the mashed garlic with the reserved cooking liquid to help loosen it up. If you want to add a bit of heat, sprinkle on some crushed red pepper flakes once plated for a nice kick!

Recipes
Campanelle with Broccoli, Roasted Garlic and Pine Nuts