Lynn's Vegetable Pasta

This vegetable pasta is an Italian-American classic built on a smart one-pot technique. Broccoli and cauliflower get blanched in the same water you’ll cook the linguine in later, which means the pasta absorbs all that vegetable flavor as it boils. Six cloves of garlic browned in olive oil with a pound of mushrooms and crushed red pepper create a savory base that everything gets tossed together in.

Blanching the broccoli and cauliflower for just 7 minutes keeps them crisp-tender, then they go back into the garlic-mushroom skillet for another 10 minutes of sauteing. That two-stage cook gives you vegetables that are tender and flavorful but still have some bite, not the mushy, overcooked greens you get from boiling them into submission.

The reserved vegetable cooking water is liquid gold. It’s starchy from the vegetables and lightly salted, which is exactly what you want for cooking pasta. Using it instead of fresh water means the linguine picks up subtle broccoli and cauliflower flavor that ties the whole dish together.

A cup of ricotta mixed with grated Romano cheese dolloped on top at the end adds a creamy, salty richness. The ricotta melts slightly against the hot pasta, creating a loose, cheesy sauce without needing cream.

Kitchen Tips

• Brown the garlic lightly, not dark. Dark garlic tastes bitter and will ruin the delicate vegetable flavors
• Slice mushrooms thick so they hold their shape during the long saute instead of shrinking to nothing
• If the skillet gets too dry while sauteing, add splashes of the reserved blanching water instead of more oil
• Serve immediately with an extra dusting of grated Romano. This pasta doesn’t reheat well since the vegetables lose their texture

Variations

• Add a handful of cherry tomato halves to the skillet for bursts of acidity and color
• Use orecchiette instead of linguine. The little cups catch the vegetable pieces and cheese perfectly
• Swap ricotta for dollops of fresh goat cheese for a tangier finish