Baked Broccoli and Cheese Pasta

Once in a while, I get a sudden desire to indulge in something sinfully delicious without worrying about those extra calories, or the size 32 jean resting in the wardrobe that fits no more! I bet all of us do, don't we??? Yesterday was such a day when I started craving for something loaded with cheese! Unfortunately I didn't have any cheese left in my fridge. So I did a quick shopping, came home with that "devil-knows-why" smile, and today I made this delicacy and had it to my heart's content. Btw, yeah, I am still in shape. Round is a shape!!!

Without testing your patience any further, let's go our recipe :)

Baked Broccoli and Cheese Pasta
Serves 2

What we need:
Pasta, of your choice - 2 cups I have used Macaroni
Broccoli - a handful, steamed lightly (about 100 g) You can also do it in microwave.
Onion, medium sized - 1, thinly sliced
Green chillies - 2, finely chopped
Garlic - 2 or 3 pods, crushed
All purpose flour - 4 tbsp.
Mozzarella cheese - 50 g, torn into pieces
Grated cheese - 5 to 6 tbsp.
Butter - 2 tbsp.
Black pepper powder - 1 tbsp.
Dry Basil - 1 tbsp.
Salt - according to taste
Water - 3 cups

How to do:
Cooking the pasta:
Cook the pasta according to instructions on the pack. Drain, run through cold water, and set aside.

For the sauce:
1. In a wok, melt the butter and add onions, garlic, green chillies and salt.
2. When the onions turn soft, throw in the all purpose flour. Stir fast so that no lumps are formed.
3. Now add the pepper powder and dry basil and steamed broccoli. To this, add 3 cups of water and mix well.
4. Let the sauce thicken a bit, ideally 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Baking:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees.
2. Meanwhile, in the baking dish, add the cooked pasta and spread.


3. Over this, pour the sauce and spread it evenly.
4. Add the Mozzarella cheese bits, and press it lightly so that it settles.
5. Over this, spread the grated cheese generously. Tap the dish lightly so that everything settles down evenly.
6. Bake it in the oven at 250 degrees for 15 minutes. You can also extend for another 5 minutes to get a brown crust of cheese!
Serve with your favorite bread!


One more entry to Saraswathi's "Say Cheese" event!
Happy Cooking and happy Blogging!

47 comments:

Sandhya Hariharan said...

Excellent... Rohini...
its indeed a coincedence... i did have Cauliflower Cheese yday.. My neighbour granny brought it to me as soon as she made some...
I will b learning the recipe sooon n posting them...

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Its so cheeeeesy..

Vrinda said...

Not a fan of pasta but brocoli is my fav veggie..Looks perfect and yummm,sounds like a nice combo

Anupama said...

Of course, we all indulge in such treats... after all there is only one life to enjoy all those delicious things on earth... very good recipe... I'll try it soon... I wasn't a cheese fan until about a year ago, but am one now!!!!

Namitha said...

Great Rohini... never tried to bake pasta with broccoli..Will try this for sure :-)

Unknown said...

That looks very inviting...good click too :-)
xllnt presentation! i had tried pasta with broccoli...ur recipe sounds interesting and will surely gonna try it....Keep rocking dear!!

prasu said...

yummy pasta dear.....it's cheesy and creamy.

Chaudhary V said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chaudhary V said...

hahaha...I also had noodle with lotssssssssssss of cheese and I was telling V in evening how much cheese I had. Guess Cheese is in the air (atleast in our building ;))

Love n carry on your great work
V

Sh... said...

Ohhhh my gosh. Too tempting for a person on diet :(

Anonymous said...

oh RO, this looks so wonderful..one look at the melted cheese, I will happily die after eating it :) My lunch today was frozen pasta ( ofcourse the cheese and broccoli) and just then I was thinking of making it on my own the next time.

Sanjana said...

Lol! I'm sure you're not ROUND! :p And this sounds and looks awesome.. cheese heaven!

Priya Suresh said...

Feel like grabbing that complete bowl, looks yummy and cheesy..

Ambika said...

Hey Rohini, that looks gorgeous!!

Sandhya Hariharan said...

Collect your award dear :)

Saraswathy Balakrishnan said...

Yummy and cheesy recipe for tummy my dear

Sarah Naveen said...

Oh wow!!! Superb!!
Looks really yumm!!!

Sushma Mallya said...

wow felt like having it ...loved the recipe and the yummy cheese over the dish...

lubnakarim06 said...

Oh wow.....that's an yummy and cheesy recipe...

Raks said...

Wow,yum yum!! I love this one :)

my kitchen said...

Great Rohini,never tried this,sure my son like this.

Vidya Rao said...

Wow! Waiting to try it...Its looks really inviting!Bookmarked!

SE said...

mmmmmm...pasta looks so yummy...btw such a coincidence..I had made pasta too yday...

Jeyashris Kitchen said...

wow yummy pastas and nice pictures too.Great idea of baking it.superb rohini.

Unknown said...

Looks yummy & cheessyy..cant hold myself to get a spoon from there...

Unknown said...

white sauce pasta looks very delicous n healthy with brocolli

chakhlere said...

Amazingly yummy Pasta dear!!
Just loved idea of baking it!!
Looks so delicious.

My cooking experiments said...

Hi my first time here.Great post.Bookmarked!

prasu said...

Hi dear..........collect ur awards from my blog

Sanjana said...

Hey Rohini, please come and collect an award from my blog! :D x

the traditional gourmand said...

This looks so delicous and cheesy! So glad I found your blog!

Sree vidya said...

Cheesy and yummy. yeah! round is a shape ;) I completely agree :)
Thanks for the wishes, dear.

Vidya Rao said...

Hi Rohini, just stopping by to request you to collect your award awaiting in our blog!

Shama Nagarajan said...

mouthwatering pasta..first time here..nice blog....please do participate in my first cooked food event..check my blog for details

Unknown said...

This recipe looks comforting for the chilly weather. And pretty easy as well! Bookmarked!

Kanchan said...

Btw, I loved you "I am still in shape" and the lovely write up before the post, I can totally relate to it ;)

lata raja said...

I'm not a cheese lover,yet this is a relishable recipe!

Namitha said...

pl collect your awards dear...

Preeti Kashyap said...

looks awesome! I love pasta...i love broccoli too! You have a nice space here.

dsdsds said...

broccoli with all the cheesy goodness.. nice!

Raje said...

Yumm! Pasta looks so tempting Rohini!

Nithya said...

OMG... this is so yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm :)

Padhu Sankar said...

Pasta looks tempting Rohini.By the way thanks for dropping by my blog and also for your feedback. You are really very friendly and helpful

ST said...

Its utterly butterly delicious dear:)..

swarna said...

Looks yummy, my son loves pasta got to try ur recipe..

Unknown said...

i do love the cheesy flavour in pasta..this one looks delicious..

Unknown said...

I am making this for tonight's dinner!