Across Italy · No.58 / 103
Pasta with broccoli
Pasta with broccoli
Broccoli is parboiled, most of it breaks down in garlic oil into a cream, and reserved florets return intact around fresh troccoli.
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Meet the dish
An Italian vegetable pasta that turns broccoli stems and florets into sauce
Broccoli is the sauce rather than a garnish: most of it breaks down over about 20 minutes. Fresh troccoli cooks in the same vegetable water, while reserved florets return at the end to create two textures from one ingredient.
Pasta shapes to use
- Fresh troccoli, with angular strands that hold the thick vegetable sauce
Key ingredients
- Broccoli
- Fresh troccoli
- Garlic
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Black pepper
Follow the cooking scenes
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Step 1: Parboil broccoli for ten minutes
Separate the broccoli into florets and boil in salted water for about ten minutes, until a fork enters easily. Lift it out and reserve the water for pasta; hold back a few attractive florets for finishing.
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Step 2: Break it down in garlic oil
Flavor olive oil with garlic in a skillet and add most of the broccoli. Cook for about 20 minutes with additions of broccoli water, pressing stems and florets into a thick green cream.
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Step 3: Boil pasta in the broccoli water
Cook fresh troccoli in the reserved water and transfer it al dente to the green sauce. Toss firmly for about one minute with a splash of water, return the whole florets, and finish with pepper and raw olive oil.
What to watch for
- Use the broccoli water for both pasta and sauce. Because its salt and vegetable flavor concentrate, season cautiously at the end.
- Reserve a few florets rather than crushing everything. The dish gains contrast between creamy sauce and intact broccoli from the same vegetable.
What sets it apart
Broccoli itself, broken down slowly and paired with intact florets, defines the sauce without relying on cheese or chili.