Author Notes
Aside from tomato sauce with pasta, I've not had many other vegetable based pasta sauces. Pesto doesn't count. Cheese and cream don't count as vegetables, people. And when I say sauce, I don't mean vegetables tossed in olive oil and garlic. Now, please don't get me wrong. I love all adaptations of sauce on pasta. I'm just saying, how often do we get a vegetable based sauce that isn't tomatoes? Not that often. —Brussels Sprouts for Breakfast
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Ingredients
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2-3
heads broccoli (florets removed, stems saved)
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5
anchovy filets
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3
hot peppers, like Thai (seeds removed, julienned)
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6
cloves garlic (sliced)
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4
small onion (diced)
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2 tablespoons
olive oil
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2 tablespoons
unsalted butter
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1/2 cup
dry white wine
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Fresh pasta
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1/2 - 3/4 cups
reserved pasta water
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Parmesan cheese
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salt and pepper
Directions
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In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Drop in broccoli florets and stems to blanch, for about 5 minutes, or until bright green. Remove from water and drain.
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In a large saute pan, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, hot peppers and anchovies and cook until anchovies are melted, about 5 minutes. Yes, they melt away to nothing but salty goodness. Add some salt and pepper.
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Add the white wine to the sauce and bring to a slow simmer. When simmering, reduce heat to low. Add broccoli, salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
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Cover the pan and cook for about 2 hours, stirring only occasionally. The broccoli will break down quite a bit, so help it along when stirring by smashing a little. You want it to turn into a sauce.
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Cook your pasta just when the sauce is finishing up (I made homemade pasta, but dry pasta can also be used). Ladle about 1 cup of pasta water into the broccoli sauce. Finish the dish by adding the pasta straight to the pan with the sauce. Toss to coat.
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Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and some additional fresh cracked pepper.
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