Pasta with Romanesco broccoli, a simple first course with very little fat but rich in taste. The particular flavor of Romanesco broccoli is enhanced by the strong taste of garlic, oil, and chili pepper. I don’t add bacon or anything else, just Romanesco broccoli sautéed in a pan, making it suitable for vegetarian and vegan cuisine.
Pasta with broccoli is quick to prepare; just boil the broccoli and while it’s sautéing in the pan, cook the pasta in the same water where you boiled the broccoli, and then combine everything in the pan. A very important tip to avoid adding unnecessary fats is to drain the pasta gradually with a slotted spoon in order to use its cooking water to create a tasty creamy sauce with the pasta’s starch. If you really want to add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, you can do so after plating.
For pasta lovers, I also recommend
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 274.39 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 41.15 (g) of which sugars 3.13 (g)
- Proteins 10.09 (g)
- Fat 8.95 (g) of which saturated 1.30 (g)of which unsaturated 0.53 (g)
- Fibers 5.74 (g)
- Sodium 1,086.95 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 300 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 Romanesco broccoli, raw
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic (large)
- to taste chili pepper
- 14 oz pasta
- 3 qt water (to boil the pasta)
- to taste salt
Tools
I recommend using a large pan to sauté the broccoli and later the pasta, and using a slotted spoon to drain and plate the pasta.
- 1 Pan
- 1 Slotted Spoon
Steps
Preparing pasta with broccoli is very simple and quite fast.
The first step is to clean the broccoli from its stem, wash it very well in water, and break it into pieces. Bring the water intended for boiling the pasta to a boil, salt it, and when it boils, add the broccoli and boil it; if you have broken it into pieces, it will take about 7/8 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the pan where you will later sauté all the pasta, so it should be a large pan with high edges. Pour the oil into the pan, add the garlic in pieces if you like, or leave it whole, and the chili pepper.
When the broccoli is boiled, sauté the garlic, oil, and chili pepper, and sauté the boiled broccoli in it. Remove the broccoli from the water a little at a time using the slotted spoon because you need the water to boil the pasta. While you are sautéing the broccoli, pour the pasta into the pot to boil it.
You should start draining the pasta a minute before the cooking time indicated on the package because you need to sauté it with the broccoli and continue cooking in the pan to blend everything well. I recommend sautéing the pasta over high heat, draining it a little at a time, always using the slotted spoon to naturally bring enough cooking water to the pan, which will allow you to toss the pasta well and create a natural creamy sauce given by the present starch without adding more oil. If it seems too dry, add a few more tablespoons of cooking water.
About 3 minutes will be enough to sauté the pasta well in the pan, when you turn off the heat you can add a drizzle of raw oil if you like, but I prefer to put the oil on the table and add it only if desired. Normally this pasta is eaten without cheese, but if you want to add some, I would recommend a sprinkle of pecorino.
NOTES
Pasta with broccoli is delicious when eaten right after it’s prepared, but since it requires being sautéed in a pan, you can comfortably prepare it in advance and reheat it in the pan; in this case, I recommend draining it a couple of minutes earlier to prevent it from overcooking while it cools.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What type of pasta is recommended?
Preferably, I use short pasta like rigatoni, mezze maniche, fusilli, in short, pasta that holds the sautéed broccoli well inside.
Can I use cauliflower?
Of course, instead of Romanesco broccoli, you can use the whole cauliflower family and follow the same procedure.
