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You are here: Home / Recipes / Mains / PASTA WITH CREAMY BROCCOLI AND PINE NUT SAUCE

PASTA WITH CREAMY BROCCOLI AND PINE NUT SAUCE

June 23, 2011 By Manu 40 Comments

Pasta with creamy broccoli and pine nut sauce

I have always liked broccoli (which in Italian are referred to as “broccoletti” to differentiate them from the big roman or purple broccoli), even as a child.  Then again, I also used to like brussel sprouts, so I guess I was not a fussy child when it came to eating my veggies.  Anyhow, this very easy pasta sauce is so tasty that it will be a winner even with the fussiest eaters.  It is also a healthy dish as broccoli and pine nuts are very good for you.  So, what are you waiting for?  Just give it a try!

 

Ingredients for 4 persons:
3 broccoli florets
2 cloves of garlic, halved
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 handful of pine nuts
1/3 glass milk
1 pinch salt

400 gms short pasta (I used pipette rigate/gomiti rigati)
Pecorino Romano thinly grated to serve
Ground pepper to serve

Clean and wash the broccoli florets and boil them in hot salty water until tender.  When ready, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and keep aside.  DO NOT discard the water in which you cooked the broccoli florets as you will need it both for the sauce and to cook your pasta in.

Put the halved garlic, pine nuts and extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan and sauté for a couple of minutes.

Then add the broccoli florets and mash them well with a wooden spoon or a potato masher.

Add salt, a couple of tablespoons of the broccoli water and the milk.

Cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce becomes creamy.

Put the pot with the broccoli water back on the fire (you might have to add some more water and adjust the salt) and use it to cook your pasta.

Cook the pipette rigate following the steps on How to cook pasta “al dente” in the Techniques page of this site, but drain it 1 minute before it is cooked as it will finish cooking together with the sauce.  Put the drained pasta in the frying pan with the broccoli and pinenut sauce and mix well while cooking it on a slow flame for 1 or 2 minutes.

Pasta with creamy broccoli and pine nut sauce

Serve with thinly grated Pecorino Romano and ground pepper on the top.

Pasta with creamy broccoli and pine nut sauce

NOTE: if you have some sauce left over, it also makes a great side dish and it is a good and healthy alternative to the usual potato mash.

 

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Filed Under: Mains, Pasta, Sauces, Side dishes, Vegetables Tagged With: broccoli, garlic, mains, pasta, pecorino rimano, pine nuts, vegetables, vegetarian

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Comments

  1. Giulietta @ Alterkitchen says

    June 23, 2011 at 9:18 pm

    I wasn’t fussy with veggie, either… and I love broccoletti! This pasta looks delicious.. I’ll certainly give it a try!

    Reply
  2. Parsley Sage says

    June 23, 2011 at 10:11 pm

    I’m a bit of a fussy veggie eater. Not for taste, but for texture. This is a good ‘de-textured’ veggie dish! I’m gonna give it a try this weekend 🙂 Thanks for sharing, buzzed!

    Reply
  3. PolaM says

    June 24, 2011 at 12:15 am

    No milk but anchovies and chili flakes in my version. And it used to be one of my favorite dish as a kid.
    I think the reason why people don’t like broccoli is mostly that they are often not properly cooked. Here I see a lot of raw or almost raw broccoli: trust me you need to cook them a bit longer to get the good flavors out!

    Reply
  4. Beth Michelle says

    June 24, 2011 at 12:30 am

    I was never too fussy when it came to veggies, I love them! I love the pine nuts in this sauce. Looks amazing!

    Reply
  5. Sandra's Easy Cooking says

    June 24, 2011 at 1:21 am

    Manu this look amazing…unlike you I started enjoying broccoli later after I got my kids :)) but now I can eat them in any form and in any dish :)) Your pasta look very well dressed:)

    Reply
  6. gopika says

    June 24, 2011 at 1:55 am

    Woww.. it looks soo creamy and yummy Manu.. wish i was your neighbor 😀

    Reply
  7. Kay Ecker says

    June 24, 2011 at 2:40 am

    Manu, this looks so simple and delicious. I recently made pesto and was figuring out what to do with the rest of the pine nuts and then saw your post. I’m def going to make this! Thanks for the inspiration:-)

    Reply
  8. [email protected] says

    June 24, 2011 at 3:14 am

    Lovely pasta dish, nice addition with the pine nut sauce. Thanks for sharing this tasty recipe!

    Reply
  9. aipi says

    June 24, 2011 at 5:23 am

    Oh wow looks vibrant, flavorful and yum. Great pictorials too 🙂
    US Masala

    Reply
  10. Christine says

    June 24, 2011 at 6:26 am

    Love pasta. Broccoli always has been a favorite. Your recipe sounds wonderful. Great photos.

    Reply
  11. Tina (PinayInTexas) says

    June 24, 2011 at 6:34 am

    Clarise and Cherlin both love broccoli…I’m sure they will be happy when I try this! Thanks for another yummy pasta recipe, Manu!

    Reply
  12. Lilla says

    June 24, 2011 at 7:06 am

    Buona! Questa tua versione con latte e pinoli è da copiare 🙂

    Reply
  13. Gourmantine says

    June 24, 2011 at 7:31 am

    I think I’ve started truly appreciating broccoli’s only a couple of years ago. The pasta looks yummy 🙂

    Reply
  14. [email protected] Bake Your Day says

    June 24, 2011 at 9:37 am

    This sounds awesome, the consistency of that sauce looks great!

    Reply
  15. sarah says

    June 24, 2011 at 1:31 pm

    Manu, this looks wonderful! I’m on a total pasta kick this week and this is exactly what I’m craving!

    Reply
  16. [email protected] says

    June 24, 2011 at 2:01 pm

    What a smart way to use broccoli! I definately want to try this soon- I am bookmarking Manu!

    Reply
  17. Lyn says

    June 24, 2011 at 4:31 pm

    Hi Manu! My whole family loves broccoli too and I can say that I’m very lucky that both my girls aren’t fussy when it comes to eating their greens but they’re when it comes to meat instead! LOL 😀

    Reply
  18. Nami @ Just One Cookbook says

    June 24, 2011 at 6:01 pm

    Hi Manu! I was reading your post when you tweet #FF. Did you know I was here? j/k. I make exactly same pasta WITHOUT knowing this is somewhat authentic! I was so happy to see the ingredients and the way you cook….however… I never added pine nuts! I must try adding them so I can proudly say this recipe is from Italy. LOL. You are absolutely right – my kids who usually don’t like green veggies love this pasta. I should make this for tomorrow (oh actually today now)’s lunch!

    Reply
    • Manu says

      June 24, 2011 at 8:33 pm

      Cool, we must be reading each other’s mind!!! hehehe I had no idea you were over here while I was #FFing (?????) you on Twitter!!! hehehe It’s so cool you make the same pasta too!!! <3

      Reply
      • Lyn says

        June 25, 2011 at 5:25 pm

        Hi Manu and Nami! I’m so sorry to interrupt your conversation but I saw this #FF on twitter here so I was thinking maybe both of you could help me 🙂
        I’m a super noob to twitter! Although I’ve got an acct. but I seldom login there as I find it very confusing about all these #FF, @, #F1 etc… what do they mean actually?

        Reply
        • Manu says

          June 25, 2011 at 9:06 pm

          Hehehe no problem Lyn! I do not know all the “codes” myself… Just a few: @ followed by the name of the person is the receiver of your message. #FF means “follow forever: and it is a way of showing support to the people you follow and RT is retweet (when you re tweet something said by others)… That’s all I know… hope it helps! <3

          Reply
  19. ann proffitt says

    June 24, 2011 at 6:13 pm

    was very nice

    Reply
  20. Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says

    June 24, 2011 at 8:14 pm

    You’d never have to force me to eat my broccoli. I’ve always loved it prepared any which way, especially in a creamy sauce like this.

    Reply
  21. [email protected] in disguise says

    June 24, 2011 at 9:05 pm

    I LOVE broccoli..so I really can’t wait to try this one out
    Thank you Manu for sharing

    Reply
  22. Elyse says

    June 25, 2011 at 8:14 am

    As weird as this may sound, I have a slight obsession with pine nuts! 🙂 They are just so delicious! I love whenever I have them out to eat… it’s like a little surprise when I bite into one!! lol This dish will definitely be a keeper for me!

    Reply
  23. Liz says

    June 25, 2011 at 10:07 am

    Oh, what a wonderful pasta dish…it looks amazing in that blue rimmed bowl. Manu, you’ve done it again 🙂

    Reply
  24. Hester Casey - Alchemy says

    June 25, 2011 at 9:23 pm

    You liked brussels sprout as a child? I bet they weren’t boiled to soggy mush tho! I swore I wouldn’t eat another bite of mushy broccoli either once I was a grown up but then I discovered that lightly cooked it could be incredibly good and even food of the gods when turned into this divine sauce. Manu, you are amazing!

    Reply
  25. Chiara says

    June 26, 2011 at 11:35 pm

    Ciao Manuela, piacere di conoscere te e il tuo blog ! E’ una ricetta fantastica,adoro i broccoli, me la segno subito! Aggiungo il tuo blog nel mio speciale blogroll ” cucinare in altre lingue”,passa a trovarmi, mi farà piacere!

    Reply
  26. Tiffany says

    June 28, 2011 at 8:51 am

    The broccoli-pine nut combo sounds amazing Manu! Thanks for sharing!!!

    Reply
  27. kankana says

    June 28, 2011 at 3:25 pm

    I never made broccoli pesto .. but would love to give it a try. Pesto is one of my fav sauce with pasta . 🙂

    Reply
  28. Parsley Sage says

    July 6, 2011 at 11:56 am

    Oh man. Just made this. Love!

    Reply
    • Manu says

      July 6, 2011 at 8:07 pm

      Did you???? Ohh I am soooo happy you liked it!!!! <3

      Reply
  29. The Mistress of Spices says

    August 2, 2011 at 2:08 am

    Delicious!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait to get my hands on some broccoli and make this! Thanks for sharing, Manuela.

    Reply
  30. Moore or Less Cooking Food Blog says

    January 10, 2012 at 1:18 pm

    This looks so yummy, so happy I found your blog! Nettie

    Reply
  31. Candice says

    April 1, 2012 at 12:07 pm

    Hi Manu,

    This pasta dish looks delicious. Can I replace the pine nuts with walnuts (I currently don’t have pine nuts at home)? Will it alter the flavor?

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Manu says

      April 1, 2012 at 12:11 pm

      Hi Candice! Go for it! The taste will be slightly different (walnuts are a bit “bitter”), but I think it will work quite well! You can also not put any nuts in it (that’s how my mum makes it). 🙂 Enjoy and let me know!!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Pasta: Just like Rome » Run With Sneakers says:
    August 3, 2011 at 11:29 pm

    […] you want to make this now too.  Well, here’s how you can.  Click on this link from Manu’s Menu.com and follow the directions.  Use regular milk is you’d like, or […]

    Reply
  2. Pasta With Creamy Broccoli And Pine Nut Sauce « Food Frenzy says:
    December 12, 2011 at 4:34 am

    […] http://www.manusmenu.com Pin It (function() { var s = document.createElement("SCRIPT"), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName("SCRIPT")[0]; s.type = "text/javascript"; s.async = true; s.src = "http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js&quot;; s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1); })(); reddit_url='http://blogstew.net/foodfrenzy/pasta/5167/&#039; reddit_title='Pasta+With+Creamy+Broccoli+And+Pine+Nut+Sauce' 3 | Food Type: .Recipe, Main Dish, Pasta | Tags: broccoli, pasta, pine nuts Previous Post: Chicago-style Deep Dish Grilled Corn On The Cob With Jalapeño Garlic Butter :Next Post .nrelate .nr_sponsored{ left:0px !important; } // .nrelate .nr_sponsored{ left:0px !important; } // No Comments – Leave a comment […]

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  3. Pastafarian | The Deep Dish Cayman says:
    August 21, 2012 at 4:22 am

    […] my idea of ‘good’ Italian has changed (for the better, I think!)  For example, this broccoli pasta with pine nuts absolutely blew my mind. If it came down to a bloody kitchen battle royale to the […]

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  4. Gnocchi alla Sorrentina | Mother Thyme says:
    May 21, 2013 at 12:26 am

    […] had the hardest time picking just one recipe to feature.  Some of my favorites are Pasta with Creamy Broccoli and Pine Nut Sauce and Pesto Lasagne  just to name a few.  I settled on Gnocchi alla Sorrentina because I just […]

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