Broccoli Pasta

It’s hard to get up the energy after a long day of work to make a good dinner for just yourself. But even though its just me in my house, it doesn’t mean I want to be eating anything less than good food. So, I’ve tried to start making things in “bulk”. It takes care of a good meal, and I can quickly heat it up after a long (or particularly difficult) day of work. There are sometimes those days where I get home with heavy eyelids counting the minutes until I can talk to John and crawl into my bed.Of course, when I cook in bulk, I often forget how much food I am actually making. This broccoli pasta is the perfect case in point. When I made it, I dumped in a whole box of pasta, which fed me for lunch, dinner, lunch, dinner, lunch, and then dinner. By the time it was over, I was ready to move onto another meal but I couldn’t deny that this one just tasted yummy (even on meal #6).

Two weeks later, there I was, stirring a box of pasta and two heads of broccoli in a large pot. Apparently, I suffer from some short term memory loss. Once again, I ate broccoli pasta for lunch and dinner three times that week.

Broccoli Pasta
Serves: 6
2 heads of broccoli (about 2/3 of a pound)
1 box pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Separate the florets from the broccoli. Chop the stems, as well. Boil 3 quarts of water in one large pot; in another smaller pot, boil 1 cup water. Add broccoli florets and pasta to the large pot (once water is boiling). Once water is boiling in your small pot, add stems. I cook the stems about 8 minutes, to get tender but still crunchy. Then, drain. Once pasta is finished cooking (12 minutes or so), reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain. Add olive oil to the large pot and place over medium heat. Add garlic and saute about 2 minutes. Add back the stems, florets, and pasta. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Add the pasta water you have reserved and stir, it will break up the florets and will become saucy. Stir in parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Until the next time my oven is on…