London, 11th May 2012 – I was shopping for fresh fruit and vegetables at my local fruit and veg shop when I noticed one bunch of purple sprouting broccoli laying down between leeks and spinach. I bought it.
Pasta con i Broccoletti is a very tasty way to eat this vegetable. This quick and easy recipe is perfect for a simple dinner. My 6 years old son has started to appreciate chilli and loves broccoli, so he really enjoyed this dish.
Like in my pasta with cabbage, I have added anchovies to enhance the natural flavour of the vegetable. The purple broccoli loses its purple colour when it is popped into boiling water (turning green) but it preserves its sweet and delicate taste. I boil the broccoli until very tender (10 minutes) and then add them to the garlicky oil. The vegetables break into chunks when they’re stir fried and create a dense oily green sauce.
It was a lovely dinner.
Recipe with step by step pictures
PASTA CON I BROCCOLETTI (pasta with purple sprouting broccoli)
SERVES 4, PREP 10 MINS, COOK 20 MINUTES
Ingredients:
- 200 g purple sprouting broccoli, washed and stalks trimmed
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 2 anchovies, sliced
- chilli flakes
- sea salt
- 320 g pasta shells (conchiglie)
- 20g parmesan and pecorino cheese, grated
- flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
Method:
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil.
Cut up the broccoli into chunks and add them to boiling salted water. Cook the vegetables for 10 minutes. Drain the water out of the pan and set the broccoli aside.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the garlic, anchovies and chilli flakes. Fry for 3 – 4 minutes over a low-medium heat until the garlic is golden brown.
Add the broccoli to the garlicky oil. Lower the heat, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until the vegetables are coated in the oil mixture and break into small pieces.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions. Drain the pasta al dente (firm to the bite) but reserve a tablespoon of the pasta-cooking water.
Add the tablespoon of the pasta-cooking water to the broccoli mixture in order to loosen the sauce. Add the pasta, top with flat leaf parsley, parmesan and pecorino cheese and mix well.
Serve immediately with extra grated parmesan and pecorino cheese sprinkled on top.
If you steam the purple sprouting broccoli, it keeps the purple colour. And if you steam it for long enough it will go just as soft as boiling. : )
Great tip Matthew! I will try to steam them next time. Steaming is better than boiling (the vegetables retain all their nutrients!). I often boil broccoli because I add the cooking water to the boiling water for cooking pasta or I use it for loosing the pasta sauce.
Looks delicious. Try putting the raw broccoli directly in the oil over med/high for about 10 min and add a cup of water around the 7 min mark than let the water cook off last few min. The broccoli fried straight from raw gives it such a different nutty caramalized flavor and I really think you’d enjoy it prepared this way,.
I’m looking forward to trying your cooking method tip!
Last night I cooked the broccoli sauce using your cooking method. It was really good! The broccoli were crunchy and nutty; your sauce is a good alternative to my dense and soft green sauce.
This looks great, I cooked something very similar a while back so I know sort of how it tastes!
Rita,
I have just come across your wonderful blog. I love the design. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I am always on the lookout for ways to enhance pasta dishes spending minimal time and this is a great recipe. I too use anchovies to enhance the flavour – it works wonders. Your photos look very pretty!
Thank you Jacqueline for your nice and warm comment! It’s nice to meet online another anchovy lover.
Wow! This looks so healthy and delicious! Broccoli is one of my favorite vegetables (except for potatoes. But sadly no one I know considers it a vegetable. They think it’s only for potato chips and fries) YUM!!
Not only potato chips and fries on my table too!
Made this tonight and it was really really good. So simple but SO tasty.
I am so glad you and your family like this pasta sauce!
wonderful pasta dish Rita. I made this recently and my husband, who never had it before, was in total awe. so surprised something so simple could be so delicious and satisfying. I see you followed the tradition of putting some anchovies in this… yum! hubby does not like them so I used toasted pine-nuts to give a bite. and sometimes I use toasted sunflowers instead. could live only on this pasta!
My dad like your husband does not like anchovies and my mum ever used them when preparing families meals. I agree with you this sauce is good even without anchovies (io sono un po’ fissata con le alici, le metto ovunque)!
Delizioso questo piatto! I love broccoli and really like this recipe, healthy and very tasty. You have a lovely blog. Ciao!
Thank you Alida! You are very kind.
Wow, I would never have thought in a million years about using broccoli in that way. But it looks so tasty!
Broccoli is a delicious and nutritious vegetable and this is my favourite way to eat it!
LOVE the look of this Rita. It’s going in the meal planner for this week!
Great Kate! Remember to use plenty of parmesan cheese: kids love it and the white parmesan disguises the green colour!
I love broccoli (we call it ‘trees’ in our house) and have a fondness for purple sprouting broccoli. This looks delicious and certainly sounds like something I could eat rather a lot of!
My kids, my husband and I like to eat “trees” too. I always have broccoli in my fridge and this recipe is often my” last minute pasta sauce”.
I am just about to plant out the broccoli into my veggie plot. I will have to try out this recipe when it has grown. It looks just the sort of thing that we would like. Thank you.
Using fresh broccoli is the best way to enjoy this sauce! Let’s hope to have a good crop this year!