Thursday, August 26, 2010

FRESH FETTUCCINE WITH BROCCOLI

It has been a while since I have posted a recipe! Been a while since I have cooked a meal! This was a good one! The original recipe called for broccoli raab...we cooked it, tasted it, and quickly changed to good ol' regular broccoli! The raab has a very strong and distinct taste, and needless to say we didn't enjoy it. Broccoli was delicious and I'm sure you could substitute other veggies, such as squash, and it would be equally as yummy.
FRESH FETTUCCINE WITH BROCCOLI & A LIGHT TOMATO SAUCE
Serves 3-4
adapted from this recipe

Broccoli (use as much as you want)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice (next time I would probably use more tomatoes)
1/2 white onion, finely diced
Pinch of chili flakes
3/4 cup dry white wine or vermouth, divided
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt
Black pepper
1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
1 pound fresh (not dried) fettuccine
Big handful of flat-leaf parsley or basil leaves, roughly chopped

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Boil the broccoli until tender, remove (leaving the water for the pasta).

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Do not burn it. Add the garlic, onion, chili flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and saute for three minutes, until softened.

Whisk the butter and onions while drizzling in the juice from the tomato can. You want to get the butter to emulsify, as in a beurre blanc (rich, hot butter sauce), or in this case a beurre rouge. If it gives you any trouble, just start whisking in a little more cold butter. Then add the tomato chunks, 1/2 cup of the wine, and the lemon juice. Bring to a slow simmer and reduce a little, until it coats the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust the seasoning; it probably needs more salt and possibly lemon juice.

Preheat a serving platter or bowl in the oven (200 degrees F is good).

When you are nearly ready to serve, add the broccoli to the sauce to reheat, and boil the pasta. Fresh pasta usually takes about 3 minutes. When it is al dente, immediately strain it and toss it in the skillet with the sauce and the remaining 1/4cup of wine (I left out the additional wine). Toss half the sauce, pasta, half the cheese, and a few grinds of black pepper together until the noodles are coated.

To serve, use tongs to put the noodles on the serving platter. Pour the rest of the sauce, which won't have mixed in too well, over the top, distributing the broccoli and tomatoes. Top with the rest of the cheese, more black pepper, and the parsley or basil and eat immediately.
photo & original recipe via Herbivoracious

No comments:

Post a Comment