Spaghetti with Broccoli and Mushrooms
This spaghetti dish is very easy to prepare and you can also substitute other types of pasta for a change. I have also used half broccoli and half spinach for a nice change. Crusty French bread and a garden salad make this a delicious meal.
This spaghetti dish is very easy to prepare and you can also substitute other types of pasta for a change. I have also used half broccoli and half spinach for a nice change. Crusty French bread and a garden salad make this a delicious meal.
- Carbohydrate 67.0151132798333 g
- Cholesterol 52.9670833333333 mg
- Fat 21.2923509645 g
- Fiber 7.56152938162764 g
- Protein 17.288671508 g
- Saturated Fat 12.6534195774833 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (253g)
- Sodium 1622.27120703333 mg
- Sugar 59.4535838982057 g
- Trans Fat 1.88033158376666 g
- Calories 518 calories
Step-by-step
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add spaghetti and bring the water back to a rolling boil. Cook pasta until al dente; drain well.
- Combine broccoli, mushrooms, butter, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, garlic powder and basil in a large saucepan.
- Heat the mixture over a low heat, stirring often, until the mushrooms and broccoli are hot.
- Place the spaghetti and the hot mixture in a large serving dish, toss lightly before serving.
Parmesan does the heavy lifting in this recipe, acting as both a seasoning and a structural binder when melted into butter. Many cooks fail here by dumping grated cheese into a pan that is too hot, which breaks the fat and leaves a gritty, greasy sludge rather than a cohesive sauce. Keep the heat strictly low when combining the dairy and the vegetables.
Canned mushrooms carry excess moisture that wrecks sauces instantly. Drain the 4.5-ounce cans thoroughly and press the sliced fungi in clean paper towels before adding them to the saucepan. Frozen chopped broccoli requires similar vigilance. Thaw and squeeze the vegetable completely dry, otherwise the watery thawing liquid will dilute the butter and cheese emulsion entirely.
Boil the pasta in a large pot using at least four quarts of water to prevent the strands from sticking. Test doneness by biting into a piece rather than timing it blindly. The correct al dente strand offers firm resistance at the very center without any chalky white core remaining. Drain the spaghetti immediately and reserve a half-cup of the starchy cooking water just in case the sauce needs loosening.
Toss the hot spaghetti and the vegetable mixture together immediately in a pre-warmed serving bowl to prevent rapid cooling of the butter. Serve this dish alongside a crisp garden salad to balance the heavy dairy fats. Leftovers keep for up to two days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
