Orecchiette Pasta with Broccoli and Olives

Easy-to-follow recipe for a deliciously healthy orecchiette pasta with broccoli and olives

For dinner tonight, I prepared this super easy and fast pasta. As you will see in the step-by-step recipe, it doesn't take much to pull this dish together. And it won't take you more than 25 minutes from start to finish to have hot, spicy, healthy and delicious pasta right in front of you. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz of organic broccoli florets
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 hot dried peperoncini (chili peppers)
• 1 teaspoon of anchovy paste (or 3 anchovies)
• 1 teaspoon of capers
• about 16 olives (I used kalamata)
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 12 oz of orecchiette pasta, I used DeCecco
• salt
• 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water boils, add the broccoli florets. Let simmer for about 4-5 minutes.

2. In a large pan, saute' the garlic cloves crushed, capers, peperoncini and anchovy paste with the olive oil.

3. As soon as the broccoli are tender remove them from the water - do not throw away the water because you will use it to cook the pasta. Add the broccoli to the large pan with the rest of the ingredients. And cook the pasta in the boiling water.

4. Mash the broccoli with  a fork. Add the olive cut in pieces.

5. Drain the pasta al dente, toss with the broccoli and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Buon Appetito!

Risotto with Broccoli and Sausage

Dinner inspiration: ravishing and flavorful, creamy risotto with sausage and broccoli

This morning I finally (!!) had the time to go to Trader Joe's for my grocery shopping. My favorite location in West Los Angeles is the "new" store on Olympic. It's great! It has everything you need. It's big enough to go around accident-free with a cart. And the parking lot on top of the building is actually huge! The only problem is, whoever designed that rooftop space, was clearly not thinking that people would be moving around with heavy carts. It's sloped and quite dangerous. No matter where you park, your car is not on a flat surface!
So picture this: I open the trunk of my SUV, a soccer AND a basketball roll out in the middle of the lot. With my uncanny reflexes I quickly grab both balls ... letting go of my super full cart... which slowly rolls away from my car, in the middle of the parking lot, and extremely close to another parked car. With an unbelievably graceful jump I stop it with my foot before it crushes. Oh yes! Can you imagine it?!?
Now, I really want to know: whose mind is behind this parking lot?
I am positive this has happened before! Friends from LA, anybody else?!?
Going back to my groceries, I picked up sausages and broccoli - I love the TJ's bag of organic florets. So convenient! And here is what I made for dinner:


Ingredients: serving 4                                         Printable Recipe

• 6 oz of organic broccoli florets
• 2 sausages 
• half onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• half cup of fontina cheese, shredded
• half cup of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 2 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 peperoncino (hot pepper) - optional (if sausage is mild)
• salt to taste
• 1.5 cups of arborio rice

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Directions:
Step 1: Saute' the chopped onion in the olive oil for about 3 minutes, until lightly golden.

Step 2: Stir in the sausages cut in pieces and without casing. Saute' for a few minutes breaking the sausage in smaller pieces with a wooden spoon.

Step 3: When the sausage is brownish, add the rice and the broccoli, and cook for about 1 minute. Stir.

Step 4: Add one cup of stock, and cook the rice, stirring occasionally and adding more stock (and/or water) if needed. The rice should be fully cooked in 18-20 minutes. Adjust with salt if needed.  It should be not too dry and not too runny at the end... just perfect :)

Step 5: When the rice is cooked al dente,  add the fontina, the Parmesan cheese and the butter. Mix well, cover the pot and let rest for 3-4 minutes. Your risotto will now be rich and creamy!

Serve immediately. Buon appetito!!