Cavatelli And Broccoli
Cavatelli and broccoli, like many iconic Italian dishes, is more than the sum of it's parts. There's many reasons to love this classic dish, not least of which is that the combination of ingredients yields a surprisingly complex yet comforting dish.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces cavatelli pasta
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves finely minced
- 3 cups broccoli florets and shaved stems
- 2 cups pasta water
- ½ teaspon chili pepper flakes
- 1 cup vegan Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Add a dash of salt and the cavatelli pasta and cook according to the instructions on the packet. Drain the pasta when it's finished cooking, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
- Cut the bottom inch and half off of the tough brocolli stems. Cut the head off of the broccoi and separate it into florets. Using a vegetable peeler, peel long shards off the brocooli stems, leaving a small bit of the stem intact.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Add the garlic and chili pepper flakes and saute for 1 minute.
- Add the broccoli florets to the pan and saute for one minute. Add 1 cup of the pasta water to the pan and cook until the broccoli starts to become tender.
- Add the cavatelli to the pan along with the remaining cup of reserved cooking water and the shaved broccoli stems. Stir to combine. Add the vegan Parmesan cheese and saute until until everything is well combined.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
Notes
- Always salt your pasta water generously. Even the best pasta recipes will taste under seasoned if you don't.
- When mincing garlic, peel the garlic and smash the bulb with the side of a knife before mincing it. This releases the flavorful juices inside the garlic.
- You want your pasta to be "al dente", meaning that it's a still a bit chewy with a bit of tooth. To accomplish this, cook the pasta one minute less than the instructions on the packet recommend. The rest of the cooking will be done once the pasta is in the sauce. There's nothing worse than limp and soggy pasta!
Nutrition
Calories: 559kcalCarbohydrates: 77gProtein: 14gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gSodium: 315mgPotassium: 426mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 459IUVitamin C: 62mgCalcium: 82mgIron: 2mg
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