Broccoli Parmesean Pasta

As I was making dinner last night, I kept thinking I should take pictures.

It was everything that I love about cooking and eating, and thoroughly enjoyable.

I was planning on making fresh tagliatelle with spouting broccoli and oozy cheese sauce from my Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life cookbook. But I forgot to get fontina at the grocery store last weekend, so I improvised.

I had some fresh pasta dough frozen from the last time I made a batch. I froze it in 4 ounce-portions, which is perfect for two people. I think it was the best batch I've ever made, so I'm looking forward to using the rest of it. I actually prefer to use fresh frozen dough because I think it dries the dough out just enough when it is frozen so that it is much easier to work with. I always make a basic egg pasta. The recipe came with my KitchenAid KPRA Pasta Roller Attachment for Stand Mixers, which I cannot say enough good things about... but that's another post.

Broccoli and Parmesean Fettuccini (for 2 people)

4 oz. fresh fettuccini pasta
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium shallot
1 garlic clove (or 1 tsp. minced garlic)
2 cups of fresh broccoli tops (cut into bite-sized pieces)
1 cup white wine
2 or 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 oz. of fresh parmesean, shredded

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a skillet. Add shallots and garlic, and saute until shallots soften a bit, but before garlic begins to burn. Add broccoli and saute about 1 minute longer. Add wine and cover. Cook until broccoli turns bright green and softens a bit, about 10 mintues. Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling water until al dente (with fresh pasta, about 3 minutes). When pasta is done, it will float to the top. Drain well, and immediately add to skillet with broccoli mixutre. Add 2 or 3 more Tbsp. of olive oil to coat pasta. Cook on low heat for about 1 minute to give the pasta time to absorb the mixture a bit. Top with shredded parmesean and serve.

This happy accident of a dinner was a recipe to write down and keep. Delicious! And, it was much healthier than the fontina-laced version in the cookbook. It's just a shame I don't have any eye candy to share...