Baked pasta with broccoli, pesto and feta

On this page I’m sharing the recipe for baked pasta with broccoli, pesto and feta cheese. It’s a vegetarian dinner recipe. I love pasta dishes for weekdays. They’re easy to make and they’re so satisfying after a day of hard work.
You might have never made baked pasta before, but I absolutely recommend it. After you’ve boiled the pasta, you combine it with sauce and vegetables of your choice and you bake it in the oven. It’s best if you top it with cheese and/or breadcrumbs before you bake it. For this baked pasta with broccoli I’ve topped it with both cheese and breadcrumbs.
I’ve made a green sauce of vegetables, so you’ve got some hidden vegetables in this pasta dish. Great to cook for kids (or adults who don’t like eating their veggies). Scroll down for the recipe of this baked pasta with broccoli, pesto and feta cheese.

Recipe baked pasta with broccoli, pesto and feta

Ingredients (serves 4):
300 grams pasta of your choice
1 leek, sliced
1 big broccoli
2 tablespoons flour
500 ml skimmed milk
2 tablespoons green pesto
250 grams feta cheese, cubed
85 grams rocket lettuce
4 tablespoons Panko (or breadcrumbs)
Olive oil

Bring water to a boil and prepare the penne as stated on the package.
Cut the broccoli in florets and slice the broccoli stem. Warm some olive oil in a frying pan. Add the slices of leek and broccoli stem. Stir occasionally and fry for 5-10 minutes or until soft.
Add the flour and slowly pour in the milk. Keep stirring regularly on low-medium fire for 10 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
Add half of the rocket to the leek mixture and blend in a food processor or blender until smooth. You might need to do this in two turns, depending on the size of your blender.
Combine the sauce with the pesto and the cooked pasta and poor in an oven tray. Sprinkle with the Panko and the feta cheese cubes.
Put the pasta with broccoli, pesto and feta in the oven for 20 minutes. Top with the remaining rocket before serving.