Pasta with Broccoli Sauce from #MysteryMacRae

 

Here’s something green and delicious for a bright spring supper. The recipe is easy to make and easy to double if you’re feeding more than four or want leftovers. It’s one of those pasta dishes that’s great the first night and just as good, if not better, the next day. We vary the original recipe, which comes from Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Tuesday Nights, by using a mix of fresh baby spinach and arugula rather than all spinach. We also add the leaves directly to the blender rather than stirring them first into the boiling water with the broccoli stems and then scooping them out after only 20 seconds. Stir them in then grab them out in 20 seconds? I don’t need that kind of pressure. Here's the recipe as we make it.

 

Pasta with Broccoli Sauce

 

Ingredients

Kosher salt and ground black pepper (kosher salt is less salty than regular table salt. If you’re using regular salt, start with half the amount called for, then taste and add more if you want it)

1 pound broccoli, stems and florets separated, stems peeled and leaves reserved

5 ounces of mixed baby spinach and arugula, chopped

2 - 4 garlic cloves, chopped (the original recipe calls for 2, you’ll see two in the picture above but, being garlic hounds, we usually add at least 4)

4 tablespoons salted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 tablespoon drained capers

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest, divided

12 ounces pasta such as campanelle or rigatoni

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

 

Directions

In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons salt to the boil. Cut the peeled broccoli stems into ½-inch pieces. Add stems and broccoli leaves to boiling water and cook until tender (not crisp-tender – really tender), about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer stems and leaves to a blender. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water and keep the water in the pot boiling.

Cut broccoli florets into 1- to 1 ½-inch pieces. Add them to the boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using the slotted spoon, transfer the florets to a colander and rinse under cold water until cooled. Keep the water in the pot boiling.

To the blender, add the spinach and arugula, garlic, butter, capers, red pepper flakes, ¾ teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of the lemon zest, and the ½ cup reserved cooking water. Puree until smooth and a beautiful green, about 30 seconds. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente (and if you haven’t already, remember to read Death Al Dente by MLK’s Leslie Budewitz). Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Add the florets, the puree, ¼ cup of the reserved cooking water, the remaining tablespoon lemon zest, and the cheese.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens slightly and the pasta is well coated, 1 to 2 minutes, adding more of the reserved water if desired. Remove from heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty Italian bread. 

 

 

Look for Molly’s new series, the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries,

and meet the ghost of an accidental pirate!

Coming in July 2024

Book 1: Come Shell or High Water

 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Twitter  or Instagram.