Pasta with broccoli cream, anchovies, and breadcrumbs is a typical dish of Mediterranean cuisine. A tasty and easy-to-prepare dish, pasta with a delicious cream of seasonal vegetables, broccoli, which in mid-October can be found almost everywhere in Italy, and can be found from autumn until spring. To enrich the dish, we use anchovies in oil; we can use just a couple of fillets, up to 10 if we want a richer and tastier dish. Anchovies in oil, or simply anchovies, are a typical preparation in Calabria, and it is traditional to make stocks; first, they are marinated under salt, and when ready, they are preserved in oil to be enjoyed whenever desired. I always helped my mom to prepare them; sometimes, she would take a couple from the jar, wash off the salt, and season them on the spot, so good. Lately, I use them less because my husband can’t stand the strong smell, in his opinion, but if used well in cooking, they give excellent results, and indeed he devoured this pasta dish, which I completed with toasted breadcrumbs and plenty of fresh chili because we like it so much. Here is how to preserve Calabrian peppers in oil.
Here are many other ideas with broccoli
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients for Pasta with Broccoli Cream, Anchovies, and Breadcrumbs
- 10.5 oz cavatappi or short pasta
- 1.1 lbs broccoli
- fillets anchovy
- 1 chili pepper
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsps breadcrumbs
- to taste olive oil
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pot
- 1 Pan
- 1 Colander
- 1 Slotted spoon
- 1 Chopper
Preparation Steps for Pasta with Broccoli Cream, Anchovies, and Breadcrumbs
1. Bring the water to a boil to cook the broccoli, and since we will also use it for the pasta, use a large pot filled 2/3 full.
2. Meanwhile, clean the broccoli, cut into florets, and use even part of the tender stem, cut into pieces and peeled where possible. Wash and let drain in a colander.
3. Cook the broccoli in boiling, lightly salted water. Drain without discarding the cooking water and set aside. Use a slotted spoon to quickly remove the broccoli from boiling water.
Broccoli
Broccoli florets
Boiled broccoli
4. In the boiling water where we cooked the broccoli, put the pasta to cook.
5. Prepare the broccoli cream. Put them in a bowl or chopper, with one or two cups of cooking water and blend, you can use a blender or chopper, and in a few seconds, you will get a broccoli cream.
6. In a small pan, with a little olive oil, garlic, and chili pepper, toast some breadcrumbs and set aside.
Toasted breadcrumbs
Anchovies
Anchovies melted in hot oil
7. Place a pan on the stove, add a drizzle of olive oil, add the anchovy fillets and let them melt over very low heat. Add one minced chili pepper, if desired, and one finely crushed garlic clove; let it flavor over low heat for a while, without browning the garlic too much. Add the broccoli cream and let it flavor; if necessary, add a little more pasta cooking water.
8. Drain the pasta cooked al dente, reserve some water, and toss it in the pan with the broccoli cream and anchovies. Stir well for a minute, adjust the salt, and if necessary, add some pasta cooking water. Finally, when serving, add the toasted breadcrumbs.
Broccoli cream
Pasta with broccoli cream and anchovies
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The chili pepper is optional.
You can also replace the anchovies with crumbled sausage, the Calabrian one is perfect.
You can also make an excellent baked pasta with broccoli cream by adding some provola, leaving the cream more fluid, and baking for 20 minutes.
