Name: Orecchiette with broccoli and chilli sauce
Total time: 25 min
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 200g orecchiette; 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil plus extra for drizzling; 2 anchovy fillets drained; 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced; 1 red chilli thinly sliced (or a generous pinch of dried chilli flakes ); 1 large head broccoli broken into very small florets of equal size; 50g parmesan finely grated, plus extra to serve; a large handful of leaves flat-leaf parsley finely chopped

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Orecchiette with broccoli and chilli sauce

Orecchiette with broccoli and chilli sauce

Published: July 20, 2020 at 4:05 PM

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Serves 2

Easy

Total time: 25 mins

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The trick here is to steam the broccoli in seasoned olive oil and pasta water until mushy. It emulsifies into a wonderful sauce – sounds weird but it really works

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Alternatives

Complete the dish

Try this orecchiette broccoli recipe then check out more quick pasta recipes such as our broccoli pasta and prawn orecchiette.

Orecchiette means ‘little ears’ in Italian, and it’s the perfect pasta for this dish because little puddles of sauce pool in each one. This recipe is adapted from Leon Happy Fast Food by Rebecca Seal, Jack Burke and John Vincent (£16.99, Conran Octopus). You’ll need a lidded frying pan for this recipe.

Ingredients

Nutrition

200g orecchiette
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

plus extra for drizzling
2 anchovy fillets

drained
4 cloves garlic

thinly sliced
1 red chilli

thinly sliced (or a generous pinch of dried chilli flakes )
1 large head broccoli

broken into very small florets of equal size
50g parmesan

finely grated, plus extra to serve
a large handful of leaves flat-leaf parsley

finely chopped

Nutrition: per serving

kcal809
fat32.4g
saturates8.5g
carbs88.4g
sugars8g
fibre12.3g
protein34.8g
salt0.9g

Method

step 1

Cook the orecchiette in boiling salted water for 1 minute less than the pack instructions
step 2

Meanwhile, put the oil, anchovies, garlic and chilli in a cold frying pan and bring up to heat over a medium-high heat. Mash the anchovies with a wooden spoon as they cook and they will dissolve into a paste. As soon as the garlic starts to sizzle, add a ladleful of the pasta cooking water, all the broccoli florets and season. Give it a stir and cover with a lid to steam for 10-15 minutes or until the broccoli is very mushy. Check every now and then to make sure the pan hasn’t gone too dry – if it does, add another splash of pasta water. Remove from the heat.
step 3

Drain the pasta, reserving a cupful of the cooking water. Tip the orecchiette into the frying pan and put back over a medium heat. Add a splash of the reserved pasta water and the parmesan, and toss for 1-2 minutes or until a sauce begins to form and cling to the pasta. Add more of the pasta water if it gets a little dry. Stir through the parsley.
step 4

Divide between two bowls, drizzle over a little extra olive oil, grate over some extra parmesan and crack over a few twists of black pepper. Eat straight away.

Click here for our best broccoli recipes

Easy Broccoli Recipe with Romesco Sauce

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