An All-Around Meal

Often during the middle of the week, I scour my refrigerator to see what ingredients I have and try to come up with a recipe I already have  in order to avoid an extra trip to the market.

When I stumbled into this particular recipe, it was beginner’s luck. While I am always roasting my broccoli (or any vegetable for that matter), I also have a favorite pasta recipe that incorporates white truffle butter; however, this time I didn’t have any truffle butter. So I began to raid my cupboards, and I found a bottle of white truffle balsamic vinegar that I picked up at our local farmer’s market last season. Not sure how it would work, I gave it a shot, and I couldn’t have been happier with how it beautifully flavored the broccoli and added that extra pop of flavor to the simple pasta dish.

In less than 30 minutes and with minimal ingredients, this recipe is an entire meal. Add a glass of white wine – perhaps a dry chardonnay - and you will feel as though you are dining in decadence when really it was very simple to prepare. Truly simply luxurious!

Tagliarelle Pasta with Roasted Broccoli and White Truffle Balsamic Vinaigrette

Servings - 2

Ingredients:

*8 oz of tagliarelle pasta (or fettuccini)
*1/2 cup heavy cream
*3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter
*pepper
*salt
*2 cups of broccoli florets
*2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
*2 tablespoons of Gianni’s six mushroom white truffle balsamic vinaigrette
*parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven for 400 degrees Fahrenheit

2. Prepare broccoli florets, creating bite size pieces. Place them on a lined baking sheet, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle equal parts salt and pepper (about 1-2 teaspoons of each). Then, using your hands, toss the florets to make sure they are all evenly coated with EVOO and salt & pepper.

3. Place in the oven for 20 minutes.

4. While the broccoli is roasting, bring a pot of salted water to boil.

5. While waiting for the water to boil, bring to bubbling (medium-high heat) in a sauce pan the heavy cream.

6. When the heavy cream begins to bubble, turn down the heat to medium-low, add the unsalted butter, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir until the butter is fully incorporated and wait for the sauce to thicken as you wait for the pasta to boil.

7.Once the water is boiling, place the tagliarelle pasta in the water for 2-3 minutes (just until al dente). Using a pasta fork, remove the pasta and place directly into the sauce pan, mixing to incorporate. Remove the saucepan from the stove.

8. When broccoli is finished roasting, remove from oven and drizzle with white truffle balsamic vinaigrette. Toss with hands or utensil to make sure it is equally distributed.

9. Toss broccoli into the sauce pan with the pasta and mix.

10. Serve and sprinkle with parmesan.

Key Things to Know:

~Find a variety of different balsamic vinaigrette and oils at your local specialty foods store, Whole Foods or especially during farmer’s market season, many artisans sell these specialty flavors for great prices. Gianni’s does sell all of their flavored oils online here.

~Easily swap out broccoli for your favorite vegetable(s).

Image: The Simply Luxurious Life Instagram