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Simply satisfying: A warming broccoli and pasta dish
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Whenever I have too little time and too few ingredients on hand — or when I've been eating too much meat — I cook up some broccoli pasta. Which means I make it for dinner about once every 10 days! It's delicious, healthy, inexpensive and easy to prepare. The recipe, in fact, is a cinch, consisting of just a few ingredients — pasta, chicken broth, Parmigiano-Reggiano, olive oil and a large head of the namesake crucifer. I always have four of those ingredients in the house, so all I need to do is run out and pick up some broccoli and I'm good to go. Another of this recipe's charms is its flexibility. I can swap in vegetable broth for chicken broth, spaghetti for the angel hair pasta, and any other grated hard cheese for the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Sometimes I'll even lose the broccoli in favor of roasted cauliflower or Brussels sprouts. But what makes the dish so popular in my house is its comfort factor. I serve it soupy, so you can slurp the chicken broth along with the strands of pasta. I also make sure there's some crusty bread within easy reach, which helps to mop up the broth not captured with a spoon. In the original version of this recipe (I've been making it for years), I sauteed the broccoli in olive oil over very high heat until it was quite brown around the edges. The problem with this method is the broccoli quickly soaked up all the olive oil and I always ended up having to add quite a bit more. I switched to oven-roasting it, which helps to decrease the amount of olive oil necessary. It also requires very little baby-sitting. This dish is so economical it's almost ecological. I use all of the broccoli, not just the florets. For years I used to trash the stems, but the stems also are plenty edible. Just peel off the skin, cut them up, and you're ready. Cold Weather Broccoli Pasta Start to finish: 30 minutes Servings: 4 1 large head broccoli (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds) 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt 1 to 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, or to taste 1 quart low-sodium chicken stock 1/2 pound whole-wheat capellini pasta 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese Heat the oven to 450 F. Position one of the racks in the top third of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut the broccoli, including the stems, into 2-inch pieces. Peel any thick stem pieces to remove the thick skin. On a rimmed baking sheet, arrange the broccoli in a single layer. Drizzle with the oil, then sprinkle with salt to taste and toss well. Place on the top oven rack and roast for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the broccoli is crisp tender and slightly brown at the edges. Transfer the broccoli to a large skillet, add the pepper flakes and the chicken broth, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the water in the large pot comes to a boil, add a hefty pinch of salt and the pasta. Stir and cook for two minutes, or until the pasta is limp but not quite cooked through. Drain the pasta and transfer it to the broccoli pan. Simmer for two minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano and salt to taste. Ladle into shallow soup bowls and serve with crusty bread. Nutrition information per serving: 470 calories; 160 calories from fat (34 percent of total calories); 17 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 20 mg cholesterol; 54 g carbohydrate; 9 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 25 g protein; 870 mg sodium. 
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East moline, IL Details |
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Today is Wednesday, May 22, the 142nd day of 2013. There are 223 days left in the year.
1863 -- 150 years ago: Large quantities of ice from LaCrosse and Lake Pepin are beingshipped on ice boats, towed by steamers to St. Louis and points below.
1888 -- 125 years ago: With the Mississippi River at 18 feet above the low water stage,Rock Island is waging a valiant fight to keep the river from flooding the entire city.
1913 -- 100 years ago: Approval has been given by the city commission for paving 45thStreet between 7th and 11th Avenues.
1938 -- 75 years ago: Herndon Wright, of East Moline, has won the discus-throw title, by aheave of more than 140 feet, to set a new high school record at Champaign.
1963 -- 50 years ago: With the Selective Service Law recently extended by Congress forfour more years, Mrs. Hazel Doris reminded young men that they must register withinfive days after attaining their 18th birthday.
1988 -- 25 years ago: Over 500 Quad-Cities area retired volunteers were honoredrecently for their community services at a Retired Senior Volunteer Program luncheonat Palmer Auditorium in Davenport. Guest speaker, William Moffitt, director of productengineering of Deere & Co., spoke about leadership and stressed the importance ofcommunity volunteers.
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