Pasta in Tomatoey Broccoli Sauce

Broccoli sauce prior to mashing

Broccoli is the vegetable that everyone loves to hate.  When cooked badly, it has both an unpleasant texture and taste.  No wonder former President George H. W. Bush doesn’t like the stuff.  But broccoli has a lot to recommend it.  A member of the cabbage family, it is packed with nutrients, being high in vitamin C, dietary fiber, and anti-cancer properties.  And much more importantly, when properly prepared, it can be quite tasty!

There are many pasta and broccoli recipes, but this one is different and results in a very savory dish of pasta in a thick, tomatoey, broccoli sauce.  The spices are a suggestion only – feel free to substitute your own favorites.

First we’re going to cook the broccoli, and then the pasta, in the same water. That way the vegetable nutrients aren’t  completely tossed down the drain.  In addition, a cup of this water will be added to the sauce.

The broccoli, after cooking in the pasta pot, will be transferred to a deep skillet and cooked in olive oil, thoroughly mashed down, then combined with tomato paste and the cup of reserved water to form a thick sauce.

Finally, the pasta is cooked in the pasta pot (same water as the broccoli) until not quite done, drained through a colander, then combined in the broccoli sauce and cooked to completion. 

Ingredients

1 pound broccoli, cut up (florets cut and stems thinly sliced)

4 tbs. EVOO

Pinch of turmeric

¼ tsp. red hot pepper flakes

Fresh grated black pepper to taste

1 cup of water (reserved from pot)

1 can 6 oz. tomato paste

3 cloves garlic thinly sliced

3/4 pounds (about 3/4 box) small pasta (ziti, penne, etc.)

Fresh grated cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano preferred)

Method

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add broccoli and cook 10-15 minutes until all parts are tender (particularly the stem chunks). 

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large, deep skillet (or Dutch oven).  Add spices (turmeric, hot pepper flakes, black pepper).

When broccoli is tender, remove pot from heat, then use a slotted spoon or strainer to move the broccoli to the skillet.  Reserve a cup of the broccoli water.

Cook the broccoli in the skillet over medium-high heat, stirring and mashing until hot and well cooked into a thick sauce.  Add the can of tomato paste and cup of reserved water – mix and stir well.  Stir in garlic slices a few moments before adding the pasta. Add water as necessary if sauce is too thick.

Meanwhile, bring the vegetable water back to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente (not quite done).  Drain pasta and add it to the broccoli sauce.  Stir well to coat, then cover and continue cooking until pasta is done.

Salt to taste.

Serve with a topping of fresh grated hard cheese and a nice glass of Chianti.  Enjoy!

SHORTCUT - you may replace the tomato paste and cup of water with 2 cups of prepared tomato sauce.  My favorite is Classico Traditional Tomato & Basil.

Whole wheat ziti in tomatoey broccoli sauce.

Sicilian frutti di mare

Sicilians are blessed with intense sunshine, rich soil, blue skies, and the limitless Mediterranean.  It’s not a surprise, then, that tomatoes, herbs, pasta, and sea foods are often combined into a delicious yet affordable feast.  Tomatoes, garlic, hot red peppers, and parsley are endemic to every backyard garden.  The central highlands ripple with waves of windblown, durum  wheat, resulting in fresh pasta treasured for its hearty flavor and nutrition.   And the fishing ports of Sicily, representing one quarter of the entire Italian fleet, bring in daily bounties of shrimp, sardines, anchovies, mollusks, tuna, squid, and many other varieties of sea fish.  It is a veritable seafood heaven.

This recipe is fairly straightforward using commonly available ingredients.  While not completely faithful to the indigenous Sicilian version, it is damned close.  Certainly, experiment with the bounty of any fresh seafood that is available in your area. 

I prefer using whole canned plum tomatoes (especially in winter, better than greenhouse “fresh”).  But if you’re in a big hurry, use chef’s cut or crushed tomatoes and save some preparation time.

This recipe is designed to serve two, with second helpings, and leftovers, and may be easily doubled. 

Date warning - note that the garlic is added near the end to boost the fresh garlic taste. 

Ingredients

3-4 Tbs. EVOO

¼ tsp. hot red pepper flakes (or more, or less, to taste)

Fresh ground black pepper

Pinch ground turmeric

4 anchovy strips, chopped fine

½ sweet red pepper, seeded, chopped

½ yellow onion, chopped

28oz. can whole plum tomatoes with juice

12 littleneck clams, shells soaked,  scrubbed, and rinsed several times

12 bay scallops, rinsed

12 medium shrimp, peeled and rinsed

10 oz. whole wheat pasta (spaghetti or linguine to your preference)

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped fine

3-4 Tbs. fresh Italian parsley, rinsed and chopped
Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Preparation

Heat the olive oil to medium in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven.  Add the hot red pepper flakes, black pepper, turmeric, and anchovies, then stir in onions and sweet red peppers and sauté until reduced and browned.  Continue to stir, blending in the anchovies.  Do not burn the onions. Reduce the heat a bit if necessary.

In the meantime, pour the tomatoes and their juices into a large bowl.  With freshly washed hands and no jewelry, reach into the bowl and eviscerate the stem end of each tomato, removing the bitter stem and any residual skin.  When all tomatoes have been plucked, crush them thoroughly between your fingers, then add tomatoes and their juices to the skillet.  Play like it’s kindergarten.

Readjust heat to medium and cook this mixture down, stirring frequently.  You may want to place a screen atop the pot to keep splatters to a minimum.  A cover placed askew to allow air circulation but catch splatters also works.

In a separate large pot, bring salted pasta water to a rapid boil.  Midway, add the scrubbed clams to the sauce and cover -- they may need to cook up to 20 minutes to fully open.  (Note - you are adding the clams to the sauce, not the pasta water.  This is a timing direction).

Add pasta to the boiling water and cook just short of package directions (about 7 minutes).  It will be finished cooking in the sauce.

With 6 minutes to go, add the scallops and chopped garlic to the sauce, stir well, and cover.  Then, with 3 minutes to go, add the shrimp, stir, and cover.

When pasta is done al dente, reserve ½ cup of pasta water and drain the pasta through a colander.  Keep an eye on the sauce, make sure that the clams have opened and that the shrimp turned pink.  If not, let them cook, covered, several more minutes until they have opened.  Remove and discard any clams that do not open.

Add the drained pasta and ½ cup pasta water to the sauce, toss well, top with fresh chopped parsley, and serve immediately topped with a few grinds of Parmigiano Reggiano.

A robust red wine such as the Sicilian classic, Nero D’Avola, is wonderful with this dish.  Fresh, hot, peasant bread and a simple green salad finish off the perfect meal.

Buon appetitio!