Giuseppe says: “Pasta with broccoli is Nonna’s all-time favourite pasta dish – but she doesn’t get to make it as often as she likes because Nonno only likes to eat pasta with tomato sauce every single day! This is one of my most viral dishes on social media and so many people tell me they make it at least once a week.”

Serves: 2–3
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients

1 large head of broccoli
2 cloves of garlic
½ a leek
2 spring onions
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
200g pasta of your choice (farfalle, penne, orecchiette)
1 veg stock cube
salt and pepper
1 tbsp toasted breadcrumbs, plus extra for serving
vegan Parmesan (optional)
salt and pepper

Method

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt.

Break or slice the broccoli into small chunks, keeping the stalks in too, and boil for 5–6 minutes.

While the broccoli is cooking, finely slice the garlic, leek and spring onions. Fry in olive oil on a medium heat until soft (approx. 5–10 minutes).

Remove the cooked broccoli from the pan with a slotted spoon and place on a chopping board. Don’t throw away the water! Chop the broccoli into smaller chunks and add to the pan of leeks.

Add your pasta to the same pan of water you cooked the broccoli in, and cook until al dente. Nonna’s favourite shape for this dish is farfalle or ‘butterfly’, but penne or orecchiette also work well.

Season the broccoli mixture with salt and pepper. Dissolve the stock cube in a ladle of the pasta cooking water (approx. 100ml) and add to the vegetables.

When the pasta is al dente, transfer it to the vegetable pan, add the breadcrumbs and mix everything together. Add another ladle of pasta water here if needed, to help loosen the mixture.

Turn off the heat and serve immediately, with grated Parmesan if you like, and extra toasted breadcrumbs.

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