Pasta with Broccoletti, Red Onion, Sausage and Cherry Tomatoes

Today I am making an easy pasta, perfect for any weekday night when everyone is in a rush! I am using broccoletti, a vegetable very similar to broccoli, but smaller and very sweet. Broccoletti is a hybrid vegetable between broccoli and gai lan or Asian broccoli. To me, the stem resembles the taste of green asparagus while the florets have broccoli notes. It is really tender and cooks very fast. You probably did not grow up eating broccoletti, the reason being it is a new vegetable that has been in the market since the 90s. Nowadays you can find broccoletti in every grocery store in the US.

Tips: Always cook your pasta al dente and reserve some of the pasta boiling water in case you need to add it to your sauce.
You can substitute cherry tomatoes for sun dried tomatoes. You can substitute broccoletti for broccoli.
If you buy sausages, cut and discard the casing; you will only need the meat for this recipe.

PASTA WITH BROCCOLETTI, RED ONION, SAUSAGE AND CHERRY TOMATOES

Serves 5

1lb  spaghetti or other pasta
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1lb broccoletti (washed and chopped into bite-size pieces)
1lb Italian sausage meat
1 red onion (sliced)
15-20 cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper

Ingredients

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In the meantime prepare the sauce. Heat a large deep pan over high heat and add olive oil and Italian sausage. Sauté the sausage meat breaking up with a spoon until browned (about 4 minutes). Reduce heat to medium and add the onions and broccoletti. Sauté stirring occasionally for about 3-4 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Boil the pasta until al dente according to package instructions and reserve 1/2 cup of starchy boiling water. Drain and do not rinse.

Toss the pasta in the sauce and add the 1/4 cup of reserved water and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately!

Enjoy!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

This traditional Italian pasta dish is made with onions, bacon, Parmesan, eggs, salt and freshly ground pepper. It is a perfect weekday dinner for the entire family: you can have it on the table in 20 minutes or less and everyone will enjoy it!

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA

Serves 4

1 lb dry spaghetti
2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 onion (chopped)
1/2 lb good quality bacon (chopped)
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs (beaten)
salt and freshly ground pepper


Start by making the Carbonara Sauce: Heat a medium deep skillet over medium heat and add olive oil and onions; cook over medium-low heat until onions are translucent, about 12-15 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add bacon and continue cooking stirring frequently for another 9-10 minutes until bacon is cooked and browned.
Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and let cool.

In a large bowl beat the eggs well and add the grated Parmesan. When the bacon and onions have cooled down, transfer to the bowl containing the eggs-Parmesan mixture with a slotted spoon. You can choose to add all the remaining fat to your sauce or discard the same.

Boil the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and stir; cook over high heat stirring occasionally following the package instructions (usually 8-10 minutes). Pasta should be tender yet al dente. Drain pasta and reserve 1/4 cup of the starchy boiling water.

Mix pasta and sauce: Immediately after draining the pasta, pour the spaghetti onto the carbonara sauce and mix thoroughly.  Tip: You have to mix the pasta and sauce right away so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs. The eggs should thicken but not scramble.
Add 1/4 cup (or less) of the reserved water from boiling the pasta and mix.

Enjoy!