To make creamy Cavatelli and broccoli, the Italian pasta con broccoli, you need to keep it simple. The main ingredients are only three, Cavatelli, fresh broccoli, garlic; salt, and olive oil for seasoning, served with Parmesan cheese. You can add chili pepper if you like it spicy or sausage for a more complete meal, but there is no need to add any stock or cream.
Pasta with broccoli is very common in Southern Italy, usually made with chunky fresh pasta from Puglia, Orecchiette, or Cavatelli.
The name cavatelli comes from the little hollows, in Italian cavati means scooped.
I have seen recipes adding stock or cream, which is not necessary. You can still have creamy, flavorful pasta using only broccoli and sliced garlic.
The secret is that broccoli and pasta are cooked in the same water, and a few spoons of that water are enough to create a creamy sauce.
The entire recipe will take less than 30 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights dinner. For more traditional Italian pasta with vegetables, you can also check Pasta with zucchini and ricotta, Pasta Caprese, Pasta with Genovese pesto, Pasta with Trapanese pesto, Pasta with pistachio pesto.
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Ingredients
You only need these simple ingredients:
- Cavatelli or Orecchiette (also called orecchie di prete, priest's ears): either pasta goes well with broccoli. They are both from Puglia. Fresh pasta is better, but the dry ones will do as well. To make your own homemade cavatelli you can find the recipe on the pasta project: homemade cavatelli.
- Broccoli: always use fresh vegetables. Frozen broccoli is too soggy
- Garlic: peeled fresh garlic cloves
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Parmesan cheese: freshly grated parmesan cheese or pecorino romano cheese to serve
- Chilli peppers (optional): if you like spicy food, chili peppers go very well here
- Sausages (optional): If you want to make a complete meal, you can also add sausages
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
The cooking is very simple. Here are the steps:
Boiling the broccoli
- Bring to boil a large pot of salted water
- Boil for 10 minutes the broccoli that has been rinsed and cut into florets
Hint: If you like broccoli with a tender but firm texture, boil them for only 10 minutes. If you like them soft, boil them for 15 to 20 minutes, although they will fall apart.
Preparing the broccoli sauce
While the broccoli is boiling, we start preparing the sauce:
- In a large skillet, stir fry two chopped garlic cloves in extra virgin olive oil
- If you like spicy food, add some chili peppers
- When the broccoli are ready, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon.
- Do not drain the water. Keep the water rolling boil and add some more if necessary
Hint: once you remove the broccoli, if too much water has evaporated, add some more water and bring it to a boil before adding the pasta
- Add the broccoli to the frying pan
- Stir fry with the garlic and the chili flakes
Boiling the pasta
- Boil the Cavatelli in the same water as the broccoli
- If the water stops boiling when you add the cavatelli, cover the pan until the water boils again, then remove the lid
Hint: do not leave the lid over the boiling pasta pot, as eventually, the water will spill over.
Finalizing the dish
- Once the Cavatelli have released some starch into the water, take a ladle of pasta water
- Pour the cooking water over the sauteed broccoli and let them simmer
Hint: the water with the starch from the cavatelli will make the sauce creamy. That is why the chicken stock or the heavy cream are not necessary
- While the Cavatelli are boiling, the smaller broccoli florets will slightly break down, forming a creamy sauce
- Add the cavatelli cooked al dente and stir until the sauce and the pasta are combined
Hint: You want to have some broken creamy broccoli to form a sauce and some firm and chunky florets to give some texture.
- Serve Cavatelli with broccoli sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese or Pecorino
How to serve cavatelli and broccoli
Cavatelli and Broccoli is a quick, filling meal for a cold winter day, done in less than 30 minutes.
That is why it should be simple and without too many ingredients.
If you want a complete meal, you can add sausages, but do not add chicken.
Traditionally, we never add chicken to a pasta dish or pizza in Italy.
Chicken is too refined for these originally peasant dishes!
Substitutions
You can use the same procedure with different types of broccoli:
- Cauliflower: you can also use cauliflower instead of broccoli, but broccoli is much better
- Broccoli rabe or Friarielly: they are similar to broccoli but with a bitter flavor
- Romanesco cabbage is a cross between cauliflower and broccoli with beautiful fractal florets.
You can make the same with regular pasta or gluten-free pasta. However, short and chunky pasta like cavatelli and orecchiette is a better combination.
Orecchiette with broccoli is another classic Italian dish
Variations
Other variations of this same recipe are:
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes with the garlic and stir-fry them
- Sausage - you can mix chopped sausages in the pan with broccoli to make it a complete meal. They should be previously cooked in the oven as they will not cook enough in the pan with the broccoli. You can also cook the sausage in the frying pan, then add the broccoli if you want to flavor the sauce with the fat from the sausage.
- Chicken - NEVER, if you want to keep it authentic Italian, never add chicken to a pasta dish.
Equipment
There is no need for special equipment, just a large pan to boil the broccoli and the pasta and a large frying pan to combine the dish.
As you need to drain the broccoli without throwing away the water, you can use a pasta pan with a strainer insert to easily remove the broccoli.
Alternatively, you can use a colander strainer spoon.
Storage
Like any pasta dish, this pasta is best eaten immediately.
If you have leftovers, I suggest mixing them with an egg and frying them.
That is what Italians do with pasta leftover: Fried pasta: Pasta a frittata
Top tips
- If you like broccoli with a tender but firm texture, boil them for only 10 minutes. If you like them soft, boil them for 15 to 20 minutes, although they will fall apart.
- Once you remove the broccoli from the boiling pan, if too much water has evaporated, add some more water and bring it to a boil before adding the pasta
- Do not leave the lid over the boiling pasta pot, as eventually, the water will spill over.
- The water with the starch from the cavatelli will make the sauce creamy. That is why the chicken stock or heavy cream are not necessary
- You want to have some broken creamy broccoli to form a sauce and some firm and chunky florets to give some texture.
- Add chili pepper if you like it spicy or sausage for a more complete meal, but there is no need to add any stock or cream.
Adding sausage:
- you can mix chopped sausages in the pan with broccoli to make it a complete meal. They should be previously cooked in the oven as they will not cook enough in the pan with the broccoli. You can also cook the sausage in the frying pan, then add the broccoli if you want to flavor the sauce with the fat from the sausage
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📋 Italian Cavatelli And Broccoli (No Stock)
Verified Culinary AuthorityIngredients
- 1 lb Cavatelli or Orecchiette
- 1 head Broccoli
- 2 cloves peeled garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt in the boiling water
- 3 dried hot chili optional, the quantity depends on how spicy they are
Instructions
Boiling the broccoli
- Bring to boil a large pan of water with a tablespoon of salt1 tablespoon salt
- Boil for 10 minutes the broccoli that has been rinsed and cut into florets1 head Broccoli
Preparing the broccoli sauce
- While the broccoli is boiling, stir fry two chopped garlic cloves in extra virgin olive oil2 cloves peeled garlic cloves, 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- If you like spicy food, add some chili peppers3 dried hot chili
- Remove the broccoli without draining the water
- Keep the water boiling and add some more if necessary
- When the broccoli is ready, add them to the frying pan
- Stir fry with the garlic and the chili peppers
Boiling the pasta
- Boil the Cavatelli in the same water as the broccoli1 lb Cavatelli
- If the water stops boiling when you add the cavatelli, cover the pan until the water boils again, then remove the lid
Finalizing the dish
- Once the Cavatelli have released some starch into the water, take a cup
- Pour the water over the broccoli and let them simmer
- While the Cavatelli are boiling, the smaller broccoli florets will slightly break down, forming a creamy sauce
- Add the cavatelli and stir until the sauce and the pasta are combined
- Serve Cavatelli with broccoli sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese or Pecorino
Video
Notes
- If you like broccoli with a tender but firm texture, boil them for only 10 minutes. If you like them soft, boil them for 15 to 20 minutes, although they will fall apart.
- Once you remove the broccoli from the boiling pan, if too much water has evaporated, add some more water and bring it to a boil before adding the pasta
- Do not leave the lid over the boiling pasta pot, as eventually, the water will spill over.
- The water with the starch from the cavatelli will make the sauce creamy. That is why the chicken stock is not necessary
- You want to have some broken creamy broccoli to form a sauce and some firm and chunky florets to give some texture.
- Add chili pepper if you like it spicy or sausage for a more complete meal, but there is no need to add any stock or cream.
- you can mix chopped sausages in the pan with broccoli to make it a complete meal. They should be previously cooked in the oven as they will not cook enough in the pan with the broccoli. You can also cook the sausage in the frying pan, then add the broccoli if you want to flavor the sauce with the fat from the sausage.
Nutrition
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