Broccoli & Feta Pasta

This recipe became a staple in my household back when the feta pasta was trending everywhere last year because anything with Feta gets my attention!

The difference is the original recipe calls for tomatoes but my husband can't eat a lot of tomatoes or tomato-based sauce due to his acid reflux, so I swapped them for broccoli instead.

Broccoli has been one of my favorite vegetables since I became vegetarian nearly 11 years ago because its high in fiber and has 2.5 grams of protein per cup!

I love roasting broccoli because it's deliciously crisp, simple, and combines well with other high protein veggies like asparagus or Brussels Sprouts, grains, pasta, or just on its own!

I've made this for my niece and nephew as well as my meat-eating husband and brother-in-law and everyone clears their plates and asks for seconds!

It's easy to make so long as you remember to save 1.5 cups of pasta water to add to the feta when it comes out of the oven for a creamy sauce!

Let us know in the comments section if you tried this recipe and what you think!

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You will need:

-2 heads of broccoli florets

-8 oz feta block (crumbled will not work!)

-1 box of Penne or Rigatoni pasta

-4 cloves of diced garlic

-1.5 cups reserved of pasta water

-1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

-1 tsp salt

-1 tsp black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 400*.

2) Slice broccoli and add to 13" x 9" baking dish.

3) Add block of feta to the middle of the baking dish.

4) Top with EVOO, salt and pepper and coat broccoli evenly (refer to photo above).

6) Put in oven and cook for about 35 minutes.

7) While that's in the oven, cook pasta according to instructions. Remember to reserve 1.5 cups of pasta water once it's done cooking as you'll need it for the sauce!

8) Finely dice the garlic and it to the broccoli when there is 15 minutes left to cook.

9) Take out the broccoli and feta as soon as it's done cooking and slowly pour some of the reserved pasta water over top of the feta as you continue to stir the mixture.

10) Add water until you get to your preferred consistency and stir until all the pasta has been coated.

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