Recipe Friday: Penne A La Broccoli

I just finished reading a how-to book on organic vegetable gardening.  I'm so excited to get my garden going again this spring!  I thought I should give you a garden-fresh recipe for today in honor of my gardening mood.  This recipe is from Dr Weil's website a LONG time ago!  I made this all the time when Evan and I lived in the apartment.  It's really fast and easy and not all that creative, but it tastes so good!  The real tip I want to give you here is about peeling the broccoli stems.  I know most people only eat the crowns, but the stems are actually REALLY tender and good, IF you peel them.  Just cut off all your florets then take a vegetable peeler and peel the hard, woody stuff off the stalk.  What you will have left is a tender, bright green stalk.  Just slice them and cook them with the florets.  We call them broccoli butts in our house. Can you tell we have little boys?  The recipe includes the pasta, but we make just the broccoli as a side dish too.  We don't add the pepper flakes for the kids.

Penne a la Broccoli

Description

This is one of the fastest and easiest main dishes to make. It's full of flavor and quick - it also has the cancer-fighting protection of broccoli.

Ingredients

16 oz penne or other hearty pasta, uncooked Large bunch of broccoli 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil Several cloves of garlic, chopped or mashed 1/2 cup water Salt to taste Red pepper flakes (optional) Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta in rapidly boiling water until al dente. 2. Trim the ends of the broccoli stems and cut off the flowers. Peel the outer fibrous layer off the main stalks and cut the stalks into bite-sized pieces. 3. Separate the flower of the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. 4. Place the broccoli in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Put it in a saucepan with the olive oil, garlic, water and salt. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and let steam until the broccoli is bright green and very crunchy-tender - no more than 5 minutes. Remove the lid and boil off most of the remaining liquid. 5. Toss the broccoli with cooked pasta. Top with red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese, if desired.