Orecchiette with broccoli, chile, and pecorino

This recipe is based off of a recipe by Jamie Oliver. This pasta dish is simple, quick, and delicious. It is the perfect pasta dish to make when you are in a hurry and it requires minimal ingredients. The red pepper flakes really gives this pasta dish a nice kick. We enjoyed this dish with a fresh whole grain baguette from a local bakery along with an olive oil & herb mix to dip.

Ingredients

  • broccoli chopped into small pieces (for 4 people we used 4 relatively small heads of broccoli) *save some of the stalk of the broccoli & finely chop
  • 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and sliced (we used more because we love garlic)
  • 1/2 fresh red chile (red chiles are rare in the U.S. so we subbed in red pepper flakes)
  • olive oil
  • 1 lb Orecchiette
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 oz of freshly grated pecorino cheese

Directions

  1. Boil a pot of water and add a pinch of sea salt once the water starts to boil
  2. Put a large saucepan on medium heat and add the olive oil.
  3. Finely slice the garlic and chop the stalk of the broccoli and add to the saucepan. You can also add the red pepper flakes at this time.
  4. Cover the saucepan with a lid and allow to cook for 8-10 minute…stir occasionally.
  5. Add the orecchiette to the pot of boiling water and cook according to the pasta box instructions
  6. With about 2-3 minutes left of cooking, add the broccoli florets to the pot with the boiling orecchiette pasta.
  7. When the pasta and broccoli are cooked, reserve about a cup of water and then drain the pasta.
  8. Add the pasta and broccoli to the pan with the garlic and toss everything together. Remove from heat.
  9. Season with salt and pepper, add most of the pecorino and mix. If the sauce is too thick you can add a splash of the reserved cooking water.
  10. Divide the pasta between the plates, scatter the remaining pecorino cheese, drizzle with olive oil, eat!