Pasta with Broccoli, Garlic, and Parmesan

entree
  • 1 lb broccoli or broccoli rabe or frozen broccoli that doesn't come in a box (Cascadian Farms is good)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • a 1-lb box of penne or ziti
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1 cup Parmesan, grated
  1. Put a huge pot of water on to boil.
  2. If you're using fresh broccoli, wash it and cut it into like-sized pieces that will cook al dente in about 5 minutes. For broccoli rabe, that's roughly 2 and a half inch lengths, discarding the lower third of the stems. For regular broccoli, it's about 2" for florets, 1" for thin stems, 1/4" slices for thick stems.
  3. Meanwhile, pour the olive oil into a dutch oven and heat gently with the garlic and red pepper flakes. If the garlic starts to color, turn the heat off.
  4. When the water boils, salt it, if you are salt-tolerant.
  5. If you have a pasta pot with a strainer insert, cook the broccoli in boiling water for 5 minutes, or until just barely tender, lift the strainer out of the pot, shake off excess water, and stir the broccoli into the garlic oil. Then cook the pasta in the boiling water as long as the package says, drain, stir into the oil.
  6. If you don't have a pasta pot with a strainer insert, cook the pasta first. When you add the pasta to the boiling water, set a timer for 4 minutes less than the time the box says to cook the pasta. When the timer goes off, add the broccoli to the pot. After about 4 minutes, when the broccoli is just barely tender and the pasta is al dente, drain it all, stir it into the garlic oil.
  7. Salt to taste.
  8. Serve with Parmesan on top, and extra Parm on the table.

Servings: 4

Source: tradition