orecchiette pasta

Orecchiette Pasta with Broccoli Sauce - a simple vegetarian pasta dish hailing from Tuscany that is easy to make, healthy and oh so delicious!

Orecchiette Pasta with Broccoli Sauce 

broccoli florets-

short pasta- orecchiette pasta, penne, rigatoni, etc

olive oil

shallot,

garlic cloves- rough chopped

chili flakes

salt and pepper, more to taste

miso paste (or sub 1-2 mashed anchovies)

veggie broth or chicken broth

lemon zest

Steam small broccoli florets until very tender (easily pierced with a fork)and set aside.

Cook the pasta in 8 cups water with 1 tablespoon salt (measure),  Save a cup of hot pasta water when you drain.

In a large pan, saute the shallot and garlic and chili flakes in the olive oil, over medium heat until fragrant and golden, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the miso paste (or anchovy), then add steamed broccoli,  salt, pepper and the broth.

Bring to a gentle simmer and start breaking apart the broccoli with a metal spatula into tiny pieces. As it cooks it will get easier to break apart. You want the broccoli to basically melt down into a &#8220;sauce&#8221;.  Continue simmering gently on low heat until half of the liquid evaporates and it becomes the consistency of a thick sauce, about 10-15 minutes.

If it seems watery and separated, just keep cooking it down. It won&#8217;t be smooth- but just broken down and very very tender.

Add the pasta. Toss well. Add more hot pasta water to keep it &#8221; saucy.&#8221; Add the lemon zest.

Taste for salt, adjust, adding more along with pepper, chili flakes. If you want more richness add another splash of olive oil (or pat of butter- my husband loves this). Stir in some optional pecorino.

Divide among pasta bowls and top with any of the garnishes you like. Grated Parmesan or pecorino  adds depth,basil ribbons add flavor, and a drizzle of truffle oil elevates.

My wife and I have been making this recipe once a week for the last year. 

Slight alterations: we steam the broccoli in a pressure cooker, and add a little extra garlic and chili.

One of our favourite all-time recipes, thanks for publishing!

I see some people complaining in the comments about losing the vibrant green color. A simple solution is to add a quarter teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate to the steaming water. And there you have it. Emerald green broccoli!

Very nice. Even for my meat eater husband :)

Easy and delicious.  I added all optional ingredients except truffle oil and anchovie paste, and only pecorino cheese, however to me something was missing, I added organic fire roasted diced tomatoes and voila perfecto! Will be having once a week from now on,  thank you!

This was so delicious! I kept it vegan and my meat eating husband kept commenting on how good it was. We topped ours with lemon zest and kalamata olives. This will be a regular in our house. Thank you for the great recipe.

This rocks. Even my picky, non-vegetable loving kid ate it!

My kid loves this recipe (though i leave out the lemon for her) and is a great way to get her to eat healthy. She regularly asks for seconds and thirds! 

I'm surprised to see so much fat listed in the nutritional info - where is it coming from?

I love this recipe, great for meal prep for work. I stir in baby spinach and green peas at the end , the peas give it a pop of flavour. Make this every month in big batches. Thank you !

This really just was not enjoyable in any way.

Thank you, finally someone who has recipes for us who are trying to eat more plant based meals. So many of the Vegetarian recipes are to over board with items that the rest of us are not familiar with and we don't want to spend a lot of money buying if we aren't going to like it. Additionally someone who posts the nutritional values, with so many people on diets I think that it is adding to the problem because many people have no ideal how many calories are in a recipe. I saw a recipe the other day that looked healthy and sounded good but it had over 800 calories in a serving and this wasn't a Keto recipes. Love your site

Turned out really well.  I added ground pork to it and a little whole milk at the end to make it creamy.  Great way to "bury" some broccoli in dinner.  It is impossible to pick it out!.  My 11 year-old son loved it.

Dude... I made this and it was amazing. Cooked the broccoli in the sauce instead of steaming ahead of time and added a small hit of cashew cream... amazing. Thanks for the excellent recipe!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/mXhs2DnA.mp4

A simple delicious vegetarian recipe for Orecchiette Pasta with Broccoli Sauce – full of flavor and nutrients! 

This quick Mediterranean orecchiette pasta with simple pantry staples is the perfect dinner for busy nights! White beans add fiber and plant-based protein, making it extra satisfying, while tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and olives, fill it with big flavor! 

Orecchiette with White Beans, Tomatoes, and Olives

½ lb orecchiette pasta pasta

Kosher salt

Extra virgin olive oil

garlic

½ large red onion (chopped)

white wine

lemon

thyme leaves

oregano

½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Roma tomatoes (chopped)

cannellini beans

baby arugula

Pearls Kalamata Pitted Greek Olives (plus more to your liking)

Feta cheese

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add salt. Cook the pasta in boiling water to al dante. Be sure to reserve a bit of the pasta cooking water.

About 4 minutes after you put the pasta in the boiling water, work on the sauce. In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons EVOO over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions, and season with kosher salt. Add the thyme, oregano, and pepper flakes. Cook, tossing occasionally, for about 3 to 5 minutes or until the garlic and onions have softened.

Add the white wine and cook for a couple of minutes until it reduces a bit, then add the lemon juice and ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the tomatoes and beans and cook for 5 minutes.

When the pasta is ready drain and add it to the skillet and toss to combine with the tomatoes and beans. Taste and adjust salt.

Stir in the arugula, olives, and feta cheese, if using. Enjoy!

This is one of my husband's all time favorites now! We make it about twice a month and finish it with home made pesto. The red pepper flakes gives it a nice kick and the miso adds depth. It's great leftover too!

Wow!   Such a great recipe to use broccoli as a pasta sauce.  So healthy and I noted some comments that after cooking the steamed broccoli in the sauce to break it up the bright green color was diminished.  I added a “pop” of green of a cup of frozen peas to the sauce for about a minute to upped the green theme.

Delicious, nutritious, and easy to make! Made for great leftovers, too!

Nicely explained. Clearly written instructions.

I ran across this recipe while searching ramdomly for something vegetarian to cook a few days ago.  After making sure I had all the ingredients, I made it last night.  It was absolutely delicious, worthy of 5 stars.  I had to adapt the recipe to accomodate a low-FODMAP diet, so I cut out the fresh garlic and shallot and used a garlic-infused olive oil instead. I opted for anchovies (I fudged a little bit here), toasted pine nuts, Kalamata olives, and added small cocktail tomatoes because we love tomatoes.  I added a dry cheese I had on hand and the whole dish was PERFECT!  I also copied a few Mexican recipes from this site this morning,  I'll let you know how it goes.

This is honestly my most favourite recipe ever, I make it all the time!

Orecchiette pasta is an underrated pasta shape that's uniquely delicious! Make it into an easy dinner with blistered tomatoes and Parmesan.

Orecchiette Pasta with Tomatoes

olive oil, divided

whole cherry tomatoes

balsamic vinegar

black pepper

Parmesan cheese, divided

pasta water

basil

Make the pasta

Start a pot of well salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until it is just al dente. Start tasting a few minutes before the package recommends: you want it to be tender but still a little firm on the inside; usually around 7 to 8 minutes. Before draining, reserve some pasta water with a liquid measuring cup (at least 1/4 cup). Drain the pasta.

Blister the tomatoes

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a very large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add the tomatoes, making sure there is space around each tomato (they are not touching) and the pan is not crowded. If you’re using a medium pan, cook the tomatoes in 2 batches.* Cook for 1 minute without touching the pan, then 2 to 3 more minutes until blistered, shaking the pan several times to rotate the tomatoes. Turn off the heat and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar, gently shaking several times to coat. Add 2 pinches kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Remove the tomatoes from the pan to a bowl.

Finish the dish

Mince the garlic. Once the pasta is done, in the same pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium low heat. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant. Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup pasta water, scraping the pan with a spoon to release all of the flavor of the tomato juices. Turn off the heat.

Add the pasta to the pan and toss to coat. Add the blistered tomatoes, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, and basil. Season with 2 pinches of kosher salt and lots of fresh ground pepper. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Serve with the remaining 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Orecchiette with Sausage and Peas is a delicious blend of pasta, pork sausage, and peas. It is simple to make and a perfect weeknight meal.

Orecchiette with Sausage and Peas

dry orecchiette pasta

lb pork sausage

peas

shallot (minced)

garlic (minced)

½ tsp red pepper flakes

salt and pepper (to taste)

lemon (for juice)

Parmesan cheese (for garnish)

Cook

Boil a pot of salted water for the orecchiette pasta. Once boiling, cook the pasta according to the package instructions.

While the water is boiling, cook the sausage. In a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat, cook the sausage until browned and cooked through. Remove the sausage from the pan and drain the fat. 

Heat

Place the frozen peas in a microwave-safe bowl with the recommended amount of water (on the package) and cook according to package instructions.

Heat the non-stick pan used to cook the sausage over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. Pour in the minced shallots and garlic, cook for approximately 3 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes. 

Season

Return the sausage to the pan along with the cooked pasta and peas. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the mixture and season with salt and pepper. Stir until everything is well incorporated. Heat over medium-low heat until heated through.

Serve

Remove from heat and serve with parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

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Top 5 orecchiette pasta recipes from across the web

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Top Tags

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The most viewed orecchiette pasta recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine