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In her never-ending effort to cook up dishes her son will love, Jessica Holmes made foodie-in-training Levi an orzo pasta dish with broccoli, tomatoes, olive oil and parmesan. But did he like it?

Note: This recipe is just a guideline. Jessica’s cooking philosophy is all about having the freedom to adjust a recipe and improvise in the kitchen based on your personal preferences.

Ingredients:

-Orzo pasta

-1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, higher quality

-Juice from 1 lemon

-Boiled broccoli florets

-cherry tomatoes, halved

-1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

-pine nuts, toasted

-pasta water

-basil leaves

How to make:

-Cook the orzo pasta in water seasoned with salt (“pasta water”), about 9 minutes. Set the pasta water aside. Pour the warm pasta into a large bowl and then drizzle the olive oil over it. Incorporate the lemon juice and stir the pasta.

-Add the pasta water and stir several times. Then grate the parmesan cheese over the pasta.

-Next, add the broccoli to the pasta. Add several raw cherry tomatoes on top. (Optional step: Cook tomatoes on stove top, until soft, before adding to the pasta salad.)

-Chiffonade the basil leaves and place in the bowl. Top with the toasted pine nuts and mix the pasta salad together. Check to see if needs seasoning, such as salt, pepper and/or lemon, or more olive oil.