Pasta Con Broccoli

5 from 12 votes

Pasta with broccoli recipe. Comforting pasta flavored with garlic, pecorino cheese and olive oil in an easy to make broccoli sauce.

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Bring a large pot of salted (2 Tbsp kosher salt per gallon) water to boil. Remove and discard lower stems from broccoli and break into bite size florets. Add florets to boiling water and cook for 8 minutes until tender. When finished, set cooked broccoli aside making sure to not drain boiling water.
Cook pasta in boiling water to 1 minute less than al dente. While pasta cooks, in a large pan saute 6 cloves of chopped garlic in a 1/3 cup of olive oil over medium-low heat until golden. After golden (about 2-3 minutes) add 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes to oil.
Add the precooked broccoli to the pan and continue to saute for 2-3 more minutes to further soften broccoli. Before draining pasta reserve at least 2 cups of pasta water.
Add 1 cup of pasta water to the pan to make the broccoli sauce and cook for 1 minute. Add the pasta into the pan along with a 1/2 cup of grated pecorino. Stir to thoroughly combine and continue to cook for 1 more minute.
Taste test the pasta and adjust salt and pepper if necessary. Also, add more pasta water if required to achieve a loose consistency. Remove pan from heat and drizzle the 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive onto the pasta. Serve with more pecorino cheese, crushed red pepper, and extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!

The sauce consistency will get creamier the longer the broccoli cooks. If you like the broccoli more firm just reduce the boiling time.
No extra salt was added, except for the salt in the pasta water and the pecorino cheese. Adjust accordingly.
Crushed red pepper flakes are optional.
Serve more crushed red pepper, pecorino cheese and extra virgin olive on the side.