This pasta dish is a weeknight staple – it’s big on flavor, yet light on ingredients and dishes. All you need is broccoli, lamb, pasta, parmesan cheese, arugula, and a splash of heavy cream. The whole family is sure to love this quick recipe!
Thanks to our friends at the American Lamb Board for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.
It’s back-to-school season, and the start of fall, which means people are busy busy busy! There’s no better dinner to whip up on a tight schedule than this one.
Start by boiling water in a large dutch oven. Add your pasta, and while that’s cooking, begin browning your lamb in a skillet, seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper.
One of my favorite little tricks with this recipe is not only that you can have both the pasta and the lamb cooking at the same time to save time, but that you can throw the broccoli right in with the pasta to save more time, and dishes! Once the pasta is almost done, you can add the broccoli, and finish cooking both together. Make sure to reserve some of your pasta water – this will help you make the pasta nice and saucy once we mix everything together!
Once your pasta and broccoli are cooked, drain the water, reserving 1-2 cups. Add the cooked lamb, some of the reserved pasta water, a splash of heavy cream, and a bit of parmesan cheese to the pot. Heat everything together for a few minutes, until nice and saucy. Adjust the seasoning as desired, and serve up this delicious dish!
See? I told you this was an incredibly easy recipe! Not only does this make a great weeknight dinner, but the leftovers make for a delicious lunch over the next few days.
And, as always, be sure to purchase locally-produced lamb meat for the best flavor + freshness! Plus – it supports your local producers in the process. If you need help finding local lamb in your area, use the American Lamb Board’s Where to Buy tool – they’ll send you a customized list of local lamb producers in your area!
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Weeknight Broccolini Pasta with Lamb, Arugula, and Parmesan
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- salt + pepper, to taste
- 1 lb rigatoni pasta Or something with a similar size + cook time
- 2 heads broccolini, chopped into florets
- 1 cup pasta water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup shaved parmesan
- 2 cups baby arugula
- salt + pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Start the Pasta: Fill a large pot or dutch oven about 3/4 of the way full with water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add your pasta. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Meanwhile, move below one step to start cooking your lamb at the same time.)Once the 8 minutes are up, add the broccolini, making sure it's all or mostly submerged in the water. Cook for 4-7 more minutes, with the lid on but vented, stirring occasionally, until the pasta and broccoli are done to your liking. Once done, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the rest out of the pot.
- Cook the Lamb: Add the ground lamb and garlic to a large skillet over medium heat, and season the lamb with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring and breaking up the meat as it cooks, until it's completely browned through. Place a couple of paper towels in a strainer and spoon the lamb into the strainer to drain the grease.
- Finish it Up: Add the cooked lamb to the pot with the pasta and broccoli, over medium low heat. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water, along with the arugula, heavy cream and parmesan. Stir everything together well, and let it cook for a couple of minutes so the arugula can wilt and the pasta gets nice and saucy. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
- Serve + Store: Serve with another sprinkle of parmesan, and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
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Nova says
Does this recipe use broccolini, broccoli rabe, or regular broccoli? I see all of these used here and I’m not sure which vegetable you truly mean.
Stephanie Simmons says
Hi Nova! Any of those three should work just fine in this recipe. I used broccolini. Thanks for catching the different mentions – I’ve changed the recipe + blog post title to both say broccolini now. Happy cooking!