This Lemon Spaghetti with veggies is a quick, healthy and easy weeknight meal. The pasta is tossed in a garlic-infused lemon sauce then laced with smoky roasted broccolini and chickpeas. An amazing combination! Its' all topped off with roasted sesame seeds and aged gouda. Leave off the gouda to make this pasta vegan!
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I was craving pasta.
I wanted something quick, healthy and full of flavor and Lemon Spaghetti is what transpired. One of my favorite mussel dishes is flavored with preserved lemon and Romesco sauce and so I thought I would bring some of those flavors to this pasta dish....and it was glorious!
The garlic-infused lemon sauce coats the pasta beautifully, while the smoked paprika roasted chickpeas and broccolini bring a smoky, healthy and protein packed flavor to the pasta. The combination truly is heavenly.
Substitutions + Dietary Modifications
Make it gluten-free: Substitute the pasta with your favorite gluten-free pasta.
Make it lower-carb: Substitute the pasta for zoodles! Zoodles are a great alternative to pasta, add more veggies to your dish and skip the boiling process! Just saute the zoodles in the garlic-lemon sauce for 3-4 minutes then add the roasted veggies.
Make it Vegan: Substitute the aged gouda with a hard vegan cheese, vegan parmesan or vegan goat cheese. You can also omit the cheese completely - it is still delicious!
Pack in some more protein: If you're a big meat eater you can serve this pasta alongside grilled or roasted meat dishes like this Flat Iron Steak.
Good cheese substitutions: If aged gouda is hard to find or you don't have it on hand, substitute with aged parmesan, asiago, smoked gouda (yumm) or Manchego.
Tips and Tricks
*Shave the aged gouda with a vegetable peeler. Or use a microplane for a finely grated cheese.
*Cook the spaghetti just under al dente before adding it to the garlic-lemon sauce.
*Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
*Drain the pasta but do not rinse! We want all the starches that are left on the pasta to stay on there.
*After draining the pasta, put it back in the dry sauce pan it was just cooked in to keep warm while you finish the sauce.
Storage + Leftovers
This Lemon Spaghetti is best made fresh but will 1 -2 days if covered and stored in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave.
Recipe
Lemon Spaghetti with Broccolini, Smoky Chickpeas and Aged Gouda
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Ingredients
- ½ Pound Spaghetti
- 1 Bunch Broccolini
- ½ 12 oz Can Garbanzo beans
- 2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Sesame Seeds
- 3 tablespoon Olive Oil divided
- 2 Cloves Garlic or to taste
- 2-3 tablespoon Salt to taste, divided
- ½ teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
- 1 Cup Pasta Water reserve after making pasta
- ¼ Cup Aged Gouda to garnish
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F
- Rinse the broccolini, lemon and garbanzo beans and dry well.
- On a sheet pan, add the broccolini and garbanzo beans. Sprinkle with smoked paprika, salt, pepper, 1-2 tablespoon of olive oil and sesame seeds. Toss well to coat and spread in a single layer. Bake for 15 -18 minutes, flipping half way.
- While the veggies are roasting: Fill an 8 quart sauce pot with water, cover and bring to a boil. Salt the water once it has come to a boil with 2-3 tablespoons of salt..or more to taste. (should be pretty salty!)
- Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions but stop cooking when just under al dente. (The pasta will cook more in the sauce.) Stir occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
- Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and set as side. Drain pasta but do not rinse, put pasta back in the dry sauce pan to keep warm.
- Heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Finely chop garlic and add to oil. Saute until just fragrant, (reduce heat if needed - all stoves are different) then, add lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir well to combine.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce, stir to coat each noodle with the sauce then add slowly add the pasta water until a nice sauce forms (you may not need to use all the reserved water). Saute for 2-4 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
- Add the roasted broccolini and chickpeas to the spaghetti. Top with shaved or grated aged gouda and serve.
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