Brussels and Three Cheese Pasta Bake

 At first glance, this may seem like a strange combination, but it is delicious!  This recipe has a great trio of flavors:  Brussels Sprouts, lemon, and Gruyere cheese.  When I think about it, one of my favorite salads has these flavors (kale salad).  The recipe itself comes from Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen Every Day:  Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites.   I have made it twice in the last month, so that should indicate how much I like it.  

If you follow this blog, you likely know that I adore make-ahead meals.  For me, it is just the way to do things.  Very few of us have lots of time in the day to be preparing each meal separately, so make-ahead meals can help with ensuring you have food to eat, even when time is short.  While this recipe was not described as a make-ahead, I gave it a try.  I froze the leftovers in individual containers and took them for lunch at the university.  They tasted great!  I hope you will give this a try.

It was fun to use pasta from Italy 

Ingredients

1/2 pound (8oz; 225g.) pasta of your choice (something twisty is nice)

2 Tb. unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish

1 Tb. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

10 oz (4 cups) thinly sliced or shredded Brussels sprouts

salt and freshly ground pepper

finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon

3 Tb. flour

1 3/4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken stock)

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

1 cup coarsely grated Gruyere

1 cup coarsely grated Fontina * you can leave this out and use 2 cups of Gruyere, if you wish.  (This is what I did)

 Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook until very al dente, a full 2 minutes before perfect doneness.  Drain and set aside.  (My pasta was supposed to take 6 minutes, so I cooked it for 4).

 Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 2 quart of 9-inch round baking dish.

 Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat.  Once its hot, add the garlic and let it sizzle for 10-20 seconds, then add the Brussels sprouts.  

 Season well with salt and pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes, until brighter green, but barely wilted.

 Add the lemon zest and stir to mix.  Add 2 Tb. butter and stir until melted.

 Sprinkle the flour in and stir until you no longer see it.

 Add the chicken or vegetable broth, stirring constantly.

 Once all the broth is added, simmer the sauce for 2-3 minutes.  

 Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.

 Then add the cooked pasta and stir to evenly coat.

 Combine the cheeses in a bowl and stir all but 2/3 cups into the pasta and sauce.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.  Don't hold back on black pepper.

 Scrape the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until browned on top.

 The flavors are amazing!