Kill The Broccoli
Overcooked vegetables are a common horror. Just as bad as overcooked meat, if not worse. Most people overcook, even restaurants do it often. While you won’t get sick from soggy green beans, they are just not worth eating.
Except… in this dish. Broccoli with pasta. Not “pasta with broccoli”, mind you, though it is inspired by my mother in law Antoinette’s pasta with broccoli. Antoinette is 70ish, Italian, thinks I drink too much…you get the picture. She ostensibly loves vegetables, and grows lots of them in her garden. That said, she never actually serves vegetables (at least not to me). And then…overcooked. But, she has created an enormously satisfying dish that absolutely must be made with what I can only describe as murdered broccoli. It requires broccoli steamed until it is limp, then further cooked with the sauce until it is just bits of green.
Her version is delicious, if slightly less complex. Antoinette’s pasta with broccoli includes plenty of garlic, olive oil, pasta (usually ziti) and broccoli. Finished at the table with some not so spicy chili flakes and pre-grated parmesan (DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON PRE-GRATED PARMESAN!). I love it. I can eat three big bowls of it, bland chili and all.
My boyfriend and I make a similar dish…basically spicier, with better cheese and a higher percentage of broccoli to pasta. It is even more delicious (though there is nothing like seeing a happy mother in law as you take a third portion). But when he is away, I make a version that trumps the others. I add anchovies.
Anchovies add a unique saltiness that is impossible to replicate. I would bet 50% of anchovy haters will not taste anchovies at all. The other 50%, well, stop reading and go back to your fish sticks and frozen pizzas.
Equipment:
Pasta pot with colander insert
A good parmesan grater. No, not from IKEA. Like sharp knives, a good grater will make cooking easier and more enjoyable. Microplane has some fantastic ones.
Large frying pan
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
Garlic, roughly chopped (you can’t really use too much…but start with 4 or five cloves)
4 or 5 Anchovy filets
500g Pasta (ziti works well, but really any pasta)
600 to 800g broccoli, including the stems (splurge on organic…is it me, or can one never really wash broccoli sufficiently?), chopped into florets
Lots of parmesan, freshly grated
Pinch of habanero chili
Zest of 1/2 a lemon (use that good paremsan grater), optional, but really yummy
1 chicken breast (optional), cut into bite-size pieces
Steam the broccoli in a large pasta pot with colander insert. You want to get it soft. Really soft, not al dente (note: for every other dish, you want to get it al dente…remember that!).
Coat the pan with a generous amount of olive oil, heat and add garlic. Saute the garlic on medium heat until just before it turns color (you want really soft, flavorful garlic).
Add the anchovies and stir until they disintegrate. If using the chicken, add now and cook until just done. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and the chili.
Remove the broccoli form the pot. Do not discard the water…reserve about half a cup of it, leave the rest and fill the pot with cold water. Cook the pasta al dente. The broccoli should be limp and lifeless, but the pasta should be perfect.
Add the broccoli to the garlic mixture and don’t be afraid to mash it up. You may need to add olive oil and some of the steaming water to get a bit of a sauce. Add a bit of parmesan and mix well.
When the pasta is done, drain (not not rinse) and add to the rest. Mix well and add some of the parmesan. Let stand for 5 minutes and then serve immediately with more parmesan on each serving.
Goes very well with red wine. But what doesn’t?
