Italian Broccoli Pasta with Pecorino and Lemon

Italian Broccoli Pasta with Pecorino and Lemon

from mangiawithmichele.com
25 min

Italian Broccoli Pasta is comfort food at its best and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare with kitchen staples. Cooked broccoli is smashed with lots of garlic and extra virgin olive oil, then tossed with pasta, sharp Pecorino cheese and lemon creating a velvety sauce that coats the pasta in a deconstructed-broccoli-pesto-sort-of-way.

Ingredients

  • 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (+ extra for finishing)
  • 3 Tbsp chopped garlic
  • Pinch crushed red pepper
  • 2 pounds frozen broccoli florets, (defrosted (See NOTE below if using fresh.))
  • 1 pound pasta (+ salt for pasta water (See NOTE below for best options.))
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • Zest from 1 lemon ((Use more if you want!))
  • 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Directions

  1. 1

    Prep all ingredients according to specifications above. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Then, combine the olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper in a large pan over medium-low heat and cook until the garlic starts to soften and brown lightly. Stir occasionally.(Please see the section above in the blog post for Step-By-Step instructions with photos.)

  2. 2

    Once the pasta water comes to a boil, add salt, then the broccoli, stirring frequently. Cook the broccoli for 4-5 minutes only–until it becomes soft and “smashable”. Test this out by piercing a piece with a fork. (Fresh broccoli will take longer to soften than frozen broccoli.)

  3. 3

    Using a hand strainer or spider, transfer the broccoli from the boiling water to the pan with the garlic. Then, add the pasta to the boiling water.

  4. 4

    While the pasta is cooking, use either a potato masher or large fork and smash the broccoli into small pieces. Leave a few small chunks. Season with the salt and black pepper.

  5. 5

    Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package directions, or about 2 minutes before you think it is al dente. Be sure to reserve at least 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.

  6. 6

    Transfer the cooked pasta and about ½ cup pasta water to the pan with the broccoli, along with the lemon zest, and toss well, allowing the pasta to finish cooking in the delicious flavors of the sauce. Add additional pasta water if more moisture is needed.

  7. 7

    Make sure the sauce and pasta are well-combined, then turn off the heat. Fold in the cheese and mix very well–thecheese should become a bit emulsified and melt into the dish.

  8. 8

    Drizzle all with a little extra-virgin olive oil, transfer to serving dishes and enjoy! Buon Appetito!