This very traditional Sicilian dish can be either a side dish or a pasta sauce. In the past, when the poor could grow their broccoli, but had to buy the pasta, the greens predominated over the pasta when the recipe was used as a sauce. It's also a nice accompaniment to a roast or stew. To serve 4 (as a side dish or over 450 g (1 pound) of pasta:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds (900 g) broccoli
- 1/4 pound (110 g) pitted black olives, chopped -- I like them fairly bitter
- A small hot pepper, crumbled or not as you prefer, or more to taste
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2/5 cup dry white wine
- 2 ounces (60 g) salty pecorino romano or salted ricotta, in shavings
- Optional: A pound (450 g) of pasta
Preparation:
Set a pot of water to boil.Wash the broccoli and cut the florets and tender leaves free (use the thick stems for something else). Cook the florets and leaves in salted boiling water for three minutes, and then remove them with a slotted spoon (if you are serving the broccoli with pasta cook the pasta in this flavored water).
Heat the oil in a broad fairly deep skillet, and add the broccoli, olives and hot pepper. Sprinkle the wine over the broccoli, cover, and simmer for a few minutes. Remove the hot pepper if you left it whole, sprinkle the shaved cheese over the broccoli, cover for another minute to let the heat soften the cheese, and serve.
A Pasta Variation:
You can use the recipe to season pasta as it is, and it will be good. However, you can also make a winter pasta al forno (baked pasta) by cooking a pound of short pasta, along the lines of penne or rigatoni. Oil a baking dish large enough to contain everything, and then alternate layers of pasta and broccoli. When all is used up, lightly beat an egg, mix it with a half-cup of grated cheese, and sprinkle the mixture over the top of the pasta. Run it under a broiler or bake it in a 400 F (200 C) oven until the top is browned, and serve at once.
