Creamy Pasta Verde with Garlic Brown Butter Breadcrumbs.
I just can’t get enough of these stupid breadcrumbs.
I know, I know, I’ve been putting them on everything. I’ll stop. Maybe. Eventually.
Sooooo. Sometimes I feel like you just… get me. That we are kindred spirits, if you will. That we row the same boat. Climbs the same trees. Wonder when flared jeans will come back in style and we can do away with this skinny leg crap. Dream of the same bacon topped cupcake. Have Ides of March on repeat because it’s double stocked with the best and most perfect eye candy in the world.
You know, I just think we do a lot of the same things that are very important in life and pertinent to our survival.
Which makes me think that you probably bought a ton of green stuff – like fresh or frozen vegetables – a week or so ago because it’s January and well, you’re going to eat healthy green things this year! and they are currently dying in your fridge. In your crisper drawer they sit. Wilting away and hoping for a better life while you make your way through pizzas and quesadillas and even apples. But no green things. That stuff’s for the birds.
No? Me neither.
Never mind. Lies. All lies. That is exactly why I’m doing this. I ended up with more green vegetables in my fridge this week than ever before, but let me just preface this with a disclaimer stating that the broccoli was only gracing my fridge due to some recipe development for another project. I would never bring such a blasphemous item into my world. It should simply be happy I didn’t pitch it straight in to the trash.
No, really though, I can’t do broccoli. There are a few instances and when I say “a few,” I mean any instance that includes deep frying and tons of melted cheese. And even that’s a stretch. But the thing is… since we are soul sisters (siblings?) and all… I know that some of you feel the same. So I’ve been trying this thing. It’s a thing where I force myself to eat vegetables even though I still can’t stand them. Sometimes I have to take measures such as breath-holding and diet Coke-chasing, but it’s been a little game I’ve been playing with myself for close to a year. And I still hate it. And it totally goes against my resolution to eat All The Delicious Things, but it also sort of goes WITH my resolution to eat All The Delicious Things because if I eat some green stuff, then I have even more leeway to eat additional delicious things. Whatever those are. And to clarify, I’m talking like, maybe three florets of broccoli or something. None of this entire bowl business.
I just… can’t.
Anyhoo. This is one of the ways I’ve been forcing myself to eat the green stuff. It’s much more palatable than, well, anything else, considering it contains a gigantic amount of cheeses and again – those stupid breadcrumbs. Which are just so, so stupid.
Stupid delicious, that is.
Creamy Pasta Verde with Garlic Brown Butter Breadcrumbs
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound whole wheat linguine
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup broccoli, chopped
- 10 asparagus spears, ends removed and cut into thirds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 leeks, trimmed, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 ounces fresh spinach
- 1/2 bunch of kale leaves, torn from the steam
- 1/2 cup edamame
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 (8-ounce) contained mascarpone cheese
- 2/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese + more for topping
- breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
- 1/3 cup seasoned panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Begin by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and preparing the pasta according to directions. While waiting for the water to boil, start on the rest of the dish. Keep in mind that you want to reseve about 2/3 of a cup of water from the pasta.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil, then toss the chopped broccoli and asparagus in the skillet with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Toss well to coat, then cook until slightly golden and crisp, about 6-8 minutes. Using a large slotted spoon, remove the broccoli and asparagus, setting it aside in a bowl.
- Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add in the leeks and red pepper, stirring well to coat and cooking until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add spinach and kale with remaining salt and pepper, tossing well. Cook and stir until wilted, about 5 minutes or so.
- While the kale and spinach are cooking, add butter to a small saucepan over medium heat and whisk constantly while it bubbles. The minute brown bits begin to form on the bottom of the pan, remove from heat and whisk for an additional 30 seconds. (for more step by step photos of browning butter, click here) Let butter stand for 2 minutes, then add in minced garlic and whisk. Add in panko and stir well to coat and combine. Set aside.
- Slice avocado in half. Remove the flesh from one side, mashing until almost smooth. Add the 2/3 of reserved pasta water to the skillet with the spinach/kale mixture, stirring well. Add the mascarpone cheese and mashed avocado, continuing to stir until totally melted and creamy. Add in the cooked pasta, tossing well to coat. Finish by adding in the cheese, broccoli, asparagus and edamame. Taste and season additionally if desired. To serve, slice remaining avocado and add it to the top of each dish, then cover in garlic brown butter bread crumbs.
Notes
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Okay. Enough with that.
79 Comments on “Creamy Pasta Verde with Garlic Brown Butter Breadcrumbs.”
This looks so delicious, Jessica!
Love this!!! The colors are beautiful!!
This sounds and looks so tasty and refreshing!
Yummy! This is a pasta dish I can dig my fork into! I love and I am so happy you post vegetable recipes!! It looks amazing!!
oh those breadcrumbs do look great- and I love your photos in this post!
I’d be addicted to them too! Your edamame looked like lima beans, and I was going to go all “gross, lima beans???” on you. But I won’t. Instead, YUM!!!
This looks beautiful!! And ps, I’m so proud of you for eating green things because when I started reading your blog I don’t think you would have dared go near them! I can’t seem to get enough of the green stuff this week, especially green juices. have you tried juicing your broccoli? It sounds odd, I know, but if you ever happen to have a head of it sitting in your fridge again and don’t want to waste, it’s a good use for it! (Not so sure how well cheese would do in a juicer but you can mask the flavour of the broccoli with other things like fruit!)
I’ve juiced everything BUT broccoli. Don’t know if I could do it.
Avocado is the gateway to all green food. Looks too good to be good for me!
I swear to you, I bookmark every. single. thing. you post. Well, like 90% because I’m a vegetarian, But seriously. You’re a genius.
I swear, it’s like you’ve looked into my brain (past the pizza-sensors – highly alert, as always) and pulled this out of it. NEEEEEEED.
This is genius! I’ve been trying to cram as many veggies into a meal as possible, and you’re so right–I have all this stuff on hand. It’s crying out from my crisper as we speak…
I just posted my favorite breadcrumb recipe on my blog a couple days ago – and I’ve always thought they were perfect – until now. Why have I not thought of adding brown butter!?!
http://entreethegiant.wordpress.com/2013/01/14/homemade-breadcrumbs/
In love with this. Mascarpone can improve anything I think. Yes! Cheese & veggies.
i’d be happy as a clam with just the brown butter croutons Jessica! But I’ll take the gorgeous creamy pasta any day too. Spinach and kale and edamame – all my favorite green little veggies. :)
Now I really want this and might have to give a try tonight! :) Thanks for sharing!
This sounds fantastic!
I’ve always been more of a breadcrumb person than a crouton person. Maybe because you get flavor without a huge clump of crunchy bread that usually won’t stay on my fork. :) This pasta looks wonderful!
With my husband’s love of all things avocado, he would totally be into this meal if I made it for him. Looks delish!
That is a lot of green stuff!! I bet you would like juicing – that way you get a ton of veggies, but don’t taste them because of the fruit.
Mmmmm this looks wonderful. I love the addition of bread crumbs
Wow! That looks so delicious! I’ve been trying to eat healthier this year, but so many healthy recipes seem bland. This one looks amazing though!
OMG. I’ve been DYING for flared jeans to come back in style. This whole skinny BS is so dumb. Plus when I wear skinny jeans I look like two bobby pins balancing on skis.
Sadness. This pasta should do the trick.
This is going to happen in my kitchen umm pronto! I don’t know where to find marscapone cheese.. Or maybe because I’ve never actually searched… I do live in a tiny town in PA so I am not all that hopeful… Can I sub something? Would cream cheese do the trick?
Pasta with brown butter bread crumbs has been my favorite food since I was a child. My Russian grandmother made it all the time. People thought I was crazy to put bread crumbs on pasta (starch on starch). Apparently my grandmother was a foodie before foodie was a word :) This dish looks amazing!
So beautiful! Love all the green stuff. I have some Brussels sprouts dying in my crisper… too bad those didn’t make an appearance :)
Have you tried oven roasted broccoli?
http://www.theliveinkitchen.com/2012/03/06/oven-roasted-broccoli/
Seriously tastes like broccoli candy. Everyone I’ve ever seen try it can’t get enough. It might change your life.
You had me at pasta and brown butter!! And obviously it’s healthy with all that green stuff in it, right??!
Soooooooo…when should be there for dinner?
My nonna would be very proud of this dish. One of her go to lunches is pasta with mascarpone and whatever leftover vegetables they have in the house from the night before. They sell this type of cheese in Italy called “mascarponato” which is even creamier and softer than mascarpone and it melts right in beautifully. We sometimes find it here in the Italian market – you should take a look at your speciality shop some time for it. I bet you’d love it.
Avocado on top of pasta…I see this becoming a new obsession of mine
Oh my does this sound and look amazing. I love avocado. I have one on my counter I need to smash up to eat on toast. YUM!
This looks so good! I will have to try this one. :)
Wait a minute. What do you have against broccoli? Sure, it’s green and stocky, but it’s like eating miniture trees for goodness sakes! Sometimes I like to imagine I’m a giant, thrashing around a small forest. I backhand them off the table, step on them, and bite their heads off. This is why I can’t go out to restaurants.
You had me so much at flared jeans, I really didn’t get much past that.
A veggie pasta dream come true. OH my do I love green veggies, especially twirled around with noodles.
I am pleasantly shocked to see such a green recipe on your blog! You are growing up!
This looks damn good!!
Green things in the fridge: check. Avocado on everything in life: check.
What a great green and vibrant meal…edamame, asparagus, broccoli, avocado – I love all of these!
Great colors and I’m hooked on everything browned butter!
say what? Flared jeans are outta style? SH*T!! I better clean out my closet and go shopping. O_O
i do feel like your soul sister! I feel the same way you do about broccoli about kale … i just. can’t. get. into it. Must try.
I really love this. The green stuff and all!
GOR.GEOUS. seriously can’t wait to make this.
Yum! I’m impressed with all the GREEN I’m seeing. For a second I thought someone hacked into your site. ;)
I love that this is loaded with green veggies! Even the broccoli!
This is the most delicious kind of green!
You just made my daily 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a lot easier. (Some days it’s 5 servings of fruit!)
You come up with the most interesting combo’s of goodness!
Jessica, you mention breadcrumbs, but the truth is, what would you do without brown butter? haha