Ingredients:
2 carrots peeled and sliced on the diagonal
1 zucchini sliced on the diagonal and then sliced in half
One head of broccoli florets removed and cut so they are approximately all the same size
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
1 pound of your choice of pasta. (We like linguine but I have also made this dish with frozen cheese tortellini.)
1/3-1/2 cup fresh ground Parmigiana Reggiano cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
Freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese to garnish
Note:
This is our favorite combination of vegetables but feel free to use whatever vegetables you love.
Also please note that the cream sauce does not reheat very well in the microwave. The cream has a tendency to separate when reheating it. This doesn’t bother me as it doesn’t affect the flavor but just be warned that this dish does not reheat that well because of the separation.
Instructions:
Fill pasta pot with cold water and set on stove on your preferred temperature to bring to a boil. (I have a power boil setting on my range so that’s what I use)
On medium heat In a 4 quart sauce pan add about 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the carrots to the pan. Cook the carrots for about three minutes until they start to slightly brown and cooked through.
Next add the zucchini to the same pan and cook for approximately another two-three minutes until the zucchini has also cooked through. You don’t want the zucchini to overcook since you will be adding the vegetables at the end and they will cook for another two minutes so you want the zucchini to still be firm and al dente.
Before removing from the pan I sprinkle the vegetables with about a 1/4 teaspoon of salt and fresh ground pepper.
Remove vegetables from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan add the heavy whipping cream and on medium heat you want to boil the cream until it starts to thicken, stirring constantly. Once the cream starts to thicken that is when I usually put the pasta in the water to boil.
Add pasta to salted boiling water and cook for one-two minutes less than what the package calls for. My pasta takes ten minutes to cook so once I put it in the water, I set the timer for eight minutes. I watch it once the timer gets to four minutes I add the broccoli florets to the pasta pot with the water to cook them.
While the pasta and broccoli are cooking finish the sauce. You’re looking for the sauce to be thick enough that while you’re stirring it it leaves a clean trail on the bottom of the pan. Once it reaches this consistency, finish the sauce by turning it down to the lowest heat and stir in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano.
Once pasta and broccoli have finished cooking drain them from the pasta water, reserving some of the pasta water for the sauce.
Add pasta and broccoli to the pan with the cream sauce. Dump in the zucchini and carrots and carefully stir to combine. If the sauce is too thick add some of the reserved pasta water to thin it out a bit. Place lid on pan and keeping the heat on the lowest setting cook covered for two minutes so that the pasta can absorb the sauce.
Turn off heat and remove lid. Gently toss and serve with a sprinkling of more cheese. (I like to use pecorino Romano) and some fresh ground pepper. Serve hot.
