Sheet Pan Pasta with Broccoli

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This is an innovative alternative to the traditional baked pasta with broccoli and cheese, that uses a sheet pan to roast the broccoli and then crisp up the pasta and topping while warming the ricotta.  The whole thing goes very fast since you boil the pasta while the broccoli roasts and broiling at the end takes only a few minutes, making it much faster than a baked pasta.  Another time-saver would be to buy pre-cut broccoli florets, at which point this whole meal could be made in about 40 minutes.

The recipe is slightly adapted from one by Melissa Clark of the New York Times. She emphasized that since this is such a simple recipe with few ingredients, the quality of each ingredient really matters.  In particular, she suggested going to a cheese shop to buy the best quality artisan ricotta you can find rather than the typical supermarket tub.  And this would also be a great recipe to use a really fun pasta shape - just be sure the pasta is approximately the same size as the broccoli for ease of eating.

As for my adaptations - I cut down on the amount of broccoli to 2 pounds (she called for 2.5 pounds) and you can see it's still plenty of broccoli - and 10 ounces of pasta rather than 12 ounces.  With the adaptations, this still makes 4 generous servings.  If you use her 2.5 pounds of broccoli and 12 ounces of pasta I would say it would serve 6 and hopefully you have a big sheet pan to boot.

Be sure to use your best quality olive oil to drizzle over the finished dish, squeeze on some lemon juice and shower with freshly ground black pepper.

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Sheet Pan Broccoli Pasta

Serves 4

2 pounds broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed

¾ teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

10 ounces medium-sized pasta such as rigatoni, or similar-sized other shapes

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more as needed

12 ounces best quality, whole milk ricotta

Fresh lemon juice, for serving

Heat oven to 425d.

On a rimmed baking sheet, toss together broccoli, oil, ¾ teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes.  Roast until tender and browned at the edges, 18 to 25 minutes, tossing halfway through.  Remove from the oven and set the oven to broil.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Cook pasta according the package directions; drain.

In a small bowl, stir together Parmesan, panko, lemon zest, a pinch of salt and the black pepper.

Toss cooked pasta with broccoli on baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper, then dollop with ricotta.  Sprinkle with the Parmesan mix, drizzle generously with oil, and broil until topping is crisped and golden, 2-3 minutes.  Watch closely so the topping doesn’t burn.  Place portions in individual shallow bowls, then sprinkle with lemon juice, drizzle with a little additional olive oil, and shower with coarse black pepper before serving.