Pasta with Broccoli

 

Pasta with Broccoli authentic Italian recipe from Naples

Do you love grandma’s recipes? I really do!

Take a moment to sit back, close your eyes, and remember the days of being a child and getting to go to your grandparents house.

Well, for me was that day everyday, because my grandma was living with us and I spent all my life with her.

There is nothing quite like knowing that you are going to have your very favorite foods cooked by grandma's loving hands and made just for you.

I think the food nourishes the body but also the soul, with the memories that accompany it.

Today is very hard to make memories in the kitchen, or carry traditions that were taught to you by your grandma.

While we may not be able to make recipes like grandma used to make, we can try to do our best to honor our family traditions, keep the family recipes known, and to keep handing down traditions through generations.

I can tell you, I did with my two children, and I’m so proud of them. They are living in Italy and they cook and bake all the recipes my grandma and my mom taught me, because I taught them since they were teenager.

Now that we are so far apart, my husband and I in the US and the kids in Italy, family recipes help to bring us all together and revive relationships with each other.

Keeping these old family recipes alive and passed down from generation to generation gives us immediate access to sweet emotions and memories.

Today I want to share one of the easiest Pasta Recipe that my whole family loves, including my kids.
This was one of my grandma favorite recipe starting fall.

Pasta and Broccoli with only 5 ingredients ready in under 15 minutes!

I basically boil the broccoli before and then in the same water I boil the pasta.

In a large saute pan, I heat the olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes over medium heat until fragrant. Once the garlic has turned golden in color, I remove it from the pan and I add the broccoli.

I toss the broccoli to coat with the oil, add in the pasta and toss. To finish I top with Parmesan cheese for serving.

PASTA AND BROCCOLI TIPS FOR SUCCESS

A few quick tips for making this perfect every time:

Don’t overcook the pasta, there is nothing worse than mushy pasta.

Reserve some of the pasta water before draining, you’ll add some of it back in after which will keep it from being dry, without having to add too much oil.

And most importantly, use good cheese! I like Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano.

If you like more spice, add more crushed red pepper flakes.

Ingredients  4 people:

3 head broccoli, cut into florets

300 g (10.58 oz)spaghetti pasta

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

Parmesan cheese 

Rinse the broccoli and pat it dry. Cut off the thick stalks (and discard them) so that you have florets with 2-3 inches of the stems attached. Slice any thicker stems lengthwise in half.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

When water boils, add broccoli and cook for 7 minutes or until tender, then remove with a slotted spoon, put the broccoli in a bowl and save the water.

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes over medium heat until fragrant. 

Once the garlic has turned golden in color, remove it from the pan. 

You are left with garlic-infused oil in the pan, add the broccoli without water and toss in the garlic oil, and cook until tender.

Cook the spaghetti pasta in the water you saved and cook according with the direction wrote on the box.

When pasta is almost done cooking, reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside. 

Drain the pasta and add to the pan with broccoli, add 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water and mix well adding more if needed.

Serve in pasta bowls with additional grated cheese on the side.

Buon Appetito!

More Italian recipe:

Spaghetti alla Nerano

We need to remember this:

Cooking and and eating family recipes together, it is a way to keep the generations of our family alive!