Farfalle with Broccoli

This time of year I look at and cook a lot of different fish recipes. This is one from Giada that I really wanted to try because it looked fast, easy and very tasty. If you guys don’t have any of Giada’s cookbooks, go grab one. Not only do they have wonderful recipes but also they are full of great tips.

The tip from this recipe page, in short, for convenience of entertaining prepare pasta earlier in the day then just reheat. Cook Pasta until al dente, scoop out of the pot into a colander and save the water. When ready to serve reheat the water, until boiling, add the pasta back to the water for 1 minute. Stir gently with wooden spoon to loosen, then toss with sauce and serve.

I love this tip. I never thought to reheat pasta in this fashion. This dish turned out very yummy and was easy to prepare and cook. My husband asked what I was making with anchovies and reminded me that he does not like anchovies. Well, he ate two servings for dinner and took some with him for lunch today. We had a big green salad with this dish, making this a perfect dish for the start of spring. For those of you that have young children or doubting husbands, no worries, the anchovies dissolve. They won’t even know they are in there.

Farfalle with Broccoli
Recipe from “Everyday Pasta” by Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:
1 lb Farfalle Pasta
2 heads of broccoli, trimmed to florets (4 cups)
¼ C extra-Virgin Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped I used 5 because they were the last from the head
5 Anchovy Fillets, Chopped
¼ tsp Red Pepper flakes
½ tsp salt I omitted the salt since the anchovies are so salty and the pasta water is salted.
½ tsp ground Black Pepper
I added a bit of white wine. Just because that’s how I roll.
½ C freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salt water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally. After 5 minutes add the broccoli florets to the pasta, stir and cook for another 4 minutes. Drain the pasta and broccoli, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. I didn’t time my pasta I just cooked it until it was al dente.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the Olive Oil and butter over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, anchovies, red pepper flakes and wine, and cook for 5 minutes. Add broccoli, pasta, salt and pepper and toss. Add some of the reserve pasta water, if necessary, to make a light sauce. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.

The following are a few pictures of spring flowers blooming in our yard.

This is Cross Vine on our fence.

I don't remember the name of this flower. It pops up every spring in our flower bed and I'm always happy to see it.

Happy Spring!