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Broccoli Cavatelli

April 5, 2022

An old school dish that I LOVED as a child.

Ironically, when I was a kid I was an extremely picky eater. The only foods I would eat with out protest were pasta and broccoli. Thus, my mom’s broccoli cavatelli was like the holy grail of dinners.

I wanted to remake that dish while taking inspiration from my time in restaurants. The cavatelli recipe that I use is similar to the one that I used to make from scratch as a line cook back in 2019. You don’t HAVE to make homemade pasta from scratch to make this dish, but you could!!!

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I believe in happy & whole food that’s equally as fun to make as it is to eat.

Wishbone Kitchen

Broccoli Cavatelli

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Ingredients

  • 1 batch homemade cavatelli linked, or sub with store bought pasta.
  • 2 cups broccoli florets set 1-2 aside for garnish
  • ½ cup fresh peas
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 2 leeks thinly sliced
  • 1 large shallot thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic rough chop
  • 1 cup basil
  • 1 lemon juice and zest
  • ¼ cup freshly grated pecorino cheese
  • 2 tbsp butter plus more as needed
  • olive oil as needed
  • ½ cup chicken stock plus more as needed
  • kosher salt
  • black pepper
  • crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

Make the Sauce
  1. Place a pot over medium low heat. Add butter. Once melted add leeks, shallots, garlic and a pinch of salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook until soft without browning. Add olive oil as needed.
  2. Add the broccoli florets and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cover for 4-6 minutes or until broccoli is tender. Add the peas, spinach and basil and cover for 1 more minute.
  3. Turn off the heat and use and immersion blender to blend until smooth and homogenous. Add extra chicken stock as needed. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remember, we will be adding pecorino which will contribute saltiness.
  4. Optional: chop up a few pieces of broccoli florets and fry in olive oil for a crunchy garnish.
Make the Pasta
  1. Cook pasta in generously salted water.
  2. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and transfer cooked pasta directly to the sauce. Add pecorino, a squeeze of lemon juice, 1 tbsp of butter (optional) and a few tbsp of pasta water. Toss to combine. Add additional pasta water to thin out the sauce if needed.
  3. Plate and top with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh basil or chives, lemon zest, pecorino and crunchy fried broccoli.

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What do you think of this recipe?

Very good! Easily serves 4-6 people. I forgot leeks at the store so had to go without those. Overall, very good and packed with veggies which is a win. The flavor is missing something (probably the leeks lol) but nothing more salt and cheese couldn’t fix! Would recommend

This recipe looks awesome. How many adults would this serve? 🙂