Pasta Con Broccoli

This is a pasta dish my Zia Rita makes for us when we stay with her in Rome. It is one of the most delicious ways you can eat broccoli! Unlike with some other pastas, this dish keeps beautifully for leftovers. Be sure to save the super flavorful leftover pasta cooking water in a container to use when reheating leftover pasta!

RECIPE

• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/4-1/3 c. olive oil

• 3/4 package pasta (I like shorter pasta like penne, rigatoni, or rotini for this recipe)

• 2 heads broccoli, chopped into bite-sized florets **see note at the end

• Salt

• 1 T. red pepper flakes

• Lemon juice

Start by putting a large pot of water to boil on the stove top. Make sure there is more than enough water for all your pasta and broccoli.

While waiting for your water to boil, swirl about 1/4 c. of olive oil into a large saucepan over medium heat. Make sure there is enough olive oil to lightly cover the entire bottom of the pan.

Add minced garlic, depending on how much garlic you can handle! (Alternatively, if you prefer a less-strong garlic flavor, you can peel the cloves and cook them whole in the sauce, removing right before serving.)

Add some red pepper flakes, about a tablespoon, depending on spice level

Saute on medium heat, being careful not to burn the garlic. Turn the heat down if necessary.

Once the water is boiling, salt it well, and add your pasta. You want to be careful with your timing here. We want the pasta to finish cooking to al dente in the pan, so be sure not to overcook it here in the pot when you have to still add your broccoli.

I cooked my rotini for about 3 minutes before adding the broccoli to the boiling water (if using rigatoni, add on a couple more minutes).

Add the broccoli and cook together with the pasta about 3 more minutes, until it begins to turn bright green in color.

Then add your broccoli, pasta, and 1-2 c. of the pasta cooking water to the saucepan. Toss until the pasta and broccoli are coated with the sauce and the pasta is perfectly al dente.

Take off the heat and squeeze some fresh lemon juice over top and toss once more. Add more salt if needed.

**A note about the broccoli, make sure you don't throw away the stalks! Peel the tough, outer layer off with a knife and chop up the rest of the stalk along with the broccoli heads. The stalks get very tender and soak up all the flavor of the sauce, so delicious!

Buon Appetito!