A simple Mafalde (Mafaldine) pasta recipe with broccoli and pine nuts, in a light lemon parmesan sauce. A deliciously simple, fresh vegetarian pasta that comes together in a breeze and tastes amazing.
I love trying out new pasta shapes, and although I often play it safe on this blog and share spaghetti or penne or whatever, in real life I am always scouting for interesting pasta shapes. Why not branch out?
Meet Mafalde Pasta!
Have you tried Mafalde pasta yet? Wider than tagliatelle, not as wide as parpadelle, and with curly edges like the fancy lasagne sheets.
Due to the size and texture of this pasta, biting into a forkful of al dente Mafalde just feels good. I like to pair it with a light but strongly flavored sauce that just coats the pasta strips and doesn’t make the experience overly messy.
Meet the Lemon Sauce!
This amazing lemon sauce is just a combination of lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil and grated parmesan. When mixed in with cooked pasta, it forms a really light and delicate (and just a touch creamy) sauce.
It pairs really nicely with basil and broccoli. The broccoli cooks in the pasta water alongside the Mafalde pasta, making this a really easy dish to put together.
And toasted pine nuts finish it all off. They’re optional, but a really nice touch to add some texture and additional flavor.
Where to buy Mafalde Pasta
Obviously you can make this sauce with a standard pasta shape like tagliatelle, so there’s no need to go out hunting down Mafalde if you aren’t inclined. But if you are…
Mafalde pasta is made by the Garafolo brand, so should not be too hard to track down around the world. Here in the UK, I get it from Ocado. Garafolo also make Mafalda Corta, a short version of Mafalde, which looks great too and comes in a gluten free variety.
Barilla makes it too, under the name Mafaldine, and they call the short version Mafalde Corte.
All these A’s and E’s swapping around… I have no idea if there’s any differences, or if it’s just how different brands Anglicise (or don’t) the Italian names?
Is this even an interesting line of conversation for normal people? I have no idea.
Adaptations and Variations to this Recipe
If you’d like to ditch the parmesan make a vegan version, add some nutritional yeast to the sauce to mimic the cheesy flavour.
Not a fan of broccoli? Try peas! Add them to the water a couple minutes before the pasta is done cooking. You may want to replace the basil with mint.
No pine nuts? Try crumbling and toasting some walnuts instead.
Mafalde Pasta with Broccoli, Lemon & Pine Nuts
Ingredients
- 500 g (18 oz) dried Mafalde pasta
- Florets from 1 head of broccoli
- 1 bunch basil, loosely chopped
- 4 Tbsp pine nuts
Lemon Sauce
- 3 large lemons
- 6 Tbsp olive oil
- 125 g (4.4 oz) finely grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Put your pasta to boil according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, prepare your lemon sauce. Juice all 3 lemons and zest 1. Add the juice and zest to a bowl. Whisk the grated parmesan and olive oil in.
- When there is 4 minutes remaining on your pasta’s cooking time, add the broccoli florets to the pan.
- Quickly toast your pine nuts. Toss them around on a hot frying pan (with no oil) until they just begin to toast. Immediately remove from the heat to stop them burning and set aside.
- Drain your pasta and broccoli and return to the pan.
- Add the lemon sauce and mix through over a low heat until the parmesan has begun to melt and the sauce has given the pasta a creamy coating.
- Remove from the heat. Add the basil and mix through, then portion into bowls and top with pine nuts.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic! I happened to find the mafalde pasta the other day and I grabbed some having seen this recipe on your site. We normally have leftovers for dinner on Tuesdays but there weren’t enough on hand, so I decided to make this! I didn’t have pine nuts so I ended up throwing in some cubed and fried halloumi (I know you feel me on this) and a handful of frozen peas in addition to the broccoli. Quick, easy, and delicious. Will definitely be making this again!
Yay! So happy you enjoyed this. And indeed, I can get behind fried halloumi as a swap for absolutely anything!
I just learned that my Marcato Atlas pasta machine has Malfadine and Spaghetti Cutters on the same Accessory. Is the recipe for homemade pasta the same for both types of pasta?
I’m going to make your Mafalda pasta for my next dinner.
This recipe was delicious! I’ve always seen Mafalda in the supermarket, yet didn’t quite know how to use it. It is a very delicate, almost lacey pasta. The lemon sauce was tart, yet creamy and the broccoli paired well ! Toasted pine nuts always add a rustic, crunchy touch. My husband wants me to add chicken or shrimp next time. This was even good cold. Solid recipe.