Ginger Zee invited Us Weekly into her Rockland County, New York, home to catch a glimpse of her stunning kitchen and make one of her family’s signature weeknight recipes – a “pasta explosion.” Watch the video above to see the gorgeous space that she shares with TV personality husband Ben Aaron and their children, Adrian and Miles.
While her current kitchen is big enough to throw a large dinner party, the Good Morning America cohost didn’t always have the kitchen of her dreams.
“I am so excited that I actually have a kitchen because I’ve lived in cities for so long that I’ve just had tiny apartments with kitchens that are smaller than the island now,” she explained. “It’s so inspiring. I have cooked so much more because I actually have space to do so, and ovens, and stove top. It’s pretty special.”
The meteorologist, who started her “Cook Club” on Good Morning America, says she owes her culinary chops to her stepfather Carl. “After [my parents] divorced, we had cereal for dinner a lot. Not until my stepfather came in did I really see what cooking and baking was,” she reminisced. “This guy came in … there was always bread rising, always muffins. There was always special pancakes with your name on them.”
Ginger Zee.
Though Zee says she is the “better cook,” than Aaron, her hubby also learned to love the kitchen. “When we had Adrian, we started doing Blue Apron. He had never cooked. Truly, this guy had buttered noodles, mostly because he wanted to save money, but also because he just like noodles a lot,” Zee noted. “Then he started cooking with Blue Apron. Then he started cooking on his own. And the recipe we’re making today is one of Ben’s originals.”
Ge the recipe for “Pasta Explosion” below, and to see it in action, watch the exclusive video above.
Good Morning America airs weekdays on ABC at 7 a.m. ET. Plus, ABC Audio’s Inside Frozen 2 podcast, hosted by Zee, is available for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast app.
Pasta Explosion
INGREDIENTS:
1 (8 oz) box chickpea pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fresh broccoli florets
1 (7.5 oz) jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/4 cup chopped pitted black olives
1/4 cup chopped artichoke
1/2 lemon
1 cup fresh mozzarella, chopped
1 cup kale, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Bring a pot of salted water to boiling for the pasta. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente according to package directions. Drain.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the broccoli florets and white wine. Cook until firm-tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as you go.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes and chopped olives and sauté for 1 minute. Add chopped artichokes and sauté 1 minute.
- Add the drained pasta to the skillet with the veggies. Let stand for 3 minutes, to let the flavors marinate.
- Add red pepper flakes. Squeeze juice of half a lemon over pasta while stirring.
- Add chopped mozzarella, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in chopped kale. Remove from the heat. Enjoy!
