Baked Cheesy Pasta in Broccoli Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 box of fusilli pasta; cooked al dente, drained and set aside

• 1 lb of broccoli; separating the stems and florets but both cut into smaller chunks

• 1 lb of spinach

• 4 cloves of garlic; cut in chunks

• 8 tbsp (1 stick) of salted butter; cut into chunks

• 1 1/2 tbsp of capers; drained

• 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes

• 1 tsbp of lemon zest

• Salt & pepper to taste

• 1 cup of grated pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

• 2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese

In a large pot, boil some salted water. When the water is boiling, add in your broccoli stems and boil for about 8 minutes. for the last minute, add in all of your spinach.

Drain the broccoli stems and spinach with a spider or slotted spoon and place directly into a blender. Do not pour out the water! Reserve 1 cup of water to the side and keep the water boiling.

Into the blender, add the reserved 1 cup of water, garlic, butter, red pepper flakes, lemon zest and salt and pepper. Blend until you have a deep green creamy sauce. Taste it, and adjust the salt and pepper as need. Set the sauce aside.

In the (still) boiling water, add in your broccoli florets and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain completely and set aside. (You can get rid of the water now!)

In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta and broccoli florets. Pour your green sauce over and your 1 cup of grated Parm or Romano cheese. Toss everything together so the pasta nd broccoli are covered in the yummy green sauce.

Pour your pasta mixture into a buttered oven-safe dish (I used a 9 x 13 Pyrex casserole). Lay everything flat and cover with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 375F for about 40 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to get crispy.