Pasta e Broccoli e Formaggio
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
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
Cover the bottom of a heavy duty saute pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic to the oil
Turn the stove on medium heat and and saute the garlic for 1 minute
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
Remove the fried cheese from the heat and set aside
Bring a large pot of water to a boil
Add ½ to ¾ of a pound of pasta and cook according to the packaging directions until al dente
With 2 minutes left until the pasta finishes cooking, add the cut broccoli florets to the boiling water
Drain the cooked pasta and broccoli
Transfer the pasta and broccoli to a large bowl and add in the fried cheese with garlic and any remaining oil
Toss to combine the pasta with the broccoli and cheese
If desired, add some more olive oil
Sprinkle some crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Serve the pasta and add some of the remaining smaller crumbs of cheese on top