• Course: Main Course
• Features: Meatless, Fast

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt
• 8 to 10 ounces dried wide egg noodles
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 medium lemon
• 12 ounces broccolini
• 1 or 2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Few grinds of black pepper
• 4-ounce block feta cheese (do not use crumbled)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a small, dry skillet over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly browned, shaking them often to keep them from burning. Remove from the heat to cool.

Use a Microplane grater or zester to yield 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest. If the broccolini stems are thick or tough, scrape them down with a vegetable peeler. Cut into smaller pieces as needed.

When the pasta is almost done, add the broccolini and cook just long enough to blanch it (no more than 4 minutes), until it is bright green and crisp-tender. Drain the pasta and broccolini into a large colander, reserving at least 1/4 inch of the cooking water in the bottom of the pot.

Transfer the pasta and broccolini to a wide, shallow serving bowl. Add the toasted pine nuts, lemon zest, crushed red pepper flakes to taste and 1 teaspoon of the oil; toss to incorporate. If the pasta seems dry, add some of the reserved cooking water and toss to combine. Season with black pepper to taste.

Add half of the feta cheese, crumbling it in your fingers as you work, then toss to incorporate. Crumble the remaining feta over the top, then drizzle with the remaining oil. Serve immediately.

Recipe Source:

Adapted from Hudgens's "The Commonsense Kitchen" (Chronicle, 2010).

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