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ABC Everyday
recipe

Hetty Lui McKinnon's fusilli with broccoli, feta and walnuts

ABC Everyday
By Hetty Lui McKinnon
Prep time
0:10
Cook time
0:20
Skill level
Low
Serves
4-5
A bowl of fusilli pasta cooked with chopped broccoli, garlic and topped with feta, chilli flakes, walnuts.
Quick, cheesy and veggie-filled, this pasta is perfect for weeknights.(ABC Everyday: Hetty Lui McKinnon)
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Here is a weeknight pasta dish that is packed with two daily essentials: flavour and veggies.

While broccoli brings big green energy to this simple pasta dish, pantry staples like garlic, red chilli flakes and lemon inject bold flavours that turn this everyday dish into one to remember.

Feta is a magical cheese to keep in your fridge. When fresh, it adds a sharp tang to salads. But when used in warm dishes, it melts and becomes mellow, imparting a creamy, buttery finish to your dish.

Here, the richness of the feta plays harmoniously with the sweet and earthy notes of the broccoli.

Frying pan of broccoli, fusilli pasta with feta cheese. An easy weeknight dinner that is vegetarian.
Feta, lemon and chilli flakes add flavour to this easy pasta meal.(ABC Everyday: Hetty Lui McKinnon)

Tips:

  • The broccoli in this dish should ideally still have a bite. I prefer most of my brassicas on the crisp-tender side, but if you prefer a softer bite, simply cook your broccoli for a minute longer before you add the pasta cooking water for the first time.
  • The pasta cooking water is important to creating a loose "sauce" that hugs the pasta. Ensure that you use a big pot of water so you have plenty of water to work with. This pasta dish should feel loose and moist, not dry, so if you are in doubt, add a bit more of the pasta cooking water to loosen everything up.
  • I usually buy pre-roasted walnuts for convenience, but if your walnuts are raw: roast them at 150˚C for 7-8 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool.
Bowl of chopped broccoli, including florets and steam. Chopped into one to two centimetre pieces, to go into an easy pasta.
Chop the broccoli florets and stem into small pieces before cooking.(ABC Everyday: Hetty Lui McKinnon)

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Ingredients

Method

  1. 1.Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and add the pasta. Cook according to packet instructions, until just al dente.
  2. 2.Finely chop the broccoli into small pieces, around 1-2 centimetres (see photo above). Remove the woody exterior from the stem and chop that up too.
  3. 3.Heat a large frying pan on medium-high, add 2 tablespoons of oil, and add the chopped broccoli, and toss for 2 minutes until starting to soften. Add the garlic and chilli flakes, season with 1 teaspoon of sea salt and a few pinches of black pepper and toss to combine.
  4. 4.Reduce heat to medium, ladle ½ cup (125ml) of the pasta water into the pan with the broccoli and stir for 2 minutes until the broccoli is bright green and softened, but still with a bite. When the pasta is ready, use a slotted spoon to transfer it directly to the broccoli (keep the cooking water). Add another 1 cup (250ml) of pasta cooking water, the feta, lemon zest, more black pepper and stir until the feta is melted through the pasta. If it looks dry, add some more pasta cooking water; you are looking for a loose sauce. Taste and, if needed, season with salt.
  5. 5.Divide the pasta amongst four serving bowls and top each with a squeeze of lemon juice, season with salt, scatter with red chilli flakes and finish with walnuts.
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