Ingredients

• ½ to ¾ pound pasta

• 1 large head of broccoli, cut into 1 inch florets and stems

• 1 cup of hard cheese, broken into ¾ inch chunks

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic

• Crushed red pepper, to taste

Steps

1. If not already cut, use the tip of a sharp knife to carefully break 1 cup of about ¾ inch chunks of parmigiano reggiano cheese. Separate the larger pieces from the smaller crumbs and save the smaller pieces for later

2. Cover the bottom of a heavy duty saute pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil

3. Add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic to the oil

4. Turn the stove on medium heat and and saute the garlic for 1 minute

5. Add in the chunks of cheese to the pan and fry over high heat for 5 minutes. Ideally, you want the outside of the cheese to crisp but not have the cheese melt and ooze

6. Remove the fried cheese from the heat and set aside

7. Bring a large pot of water to a boil

8. Add ½ to ¾ of a pound of pasta and cook according to the packaging directions until al dente

9. With 2 minutes left until the pasta finishes cooking, add the cut broccoli florets to the boiling water

10. Drain the cooked pasta and broccoli

11. Transfer the pasta and broccoli to a large bowl and add in the fried cheese with garlic and any remaining oil

12. Toss to combine the pasta with the broccoli and cheese

13. If desired, add some more olive oil

14. Sprinkle some crushed red pepper flakes to taste

15. Serve the pasta and add some of the remaining smaller crumbs of cheese on top

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