Penne with masses of broccoli, green olives and pine nuts

From Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen, Deborah Madison, Broadway Books, 2005.

Pasta, especially when you are using the store-bought variety, is usually an easy dish to put together. This one is no exception.

A rather large pan was needed for this recipe. Onion was cooked until golden; the garlic, pine nuts, chopped green olives and marjoram were added. At this stage the heat was turned to a minimum.

A pot of salted water was brought to the boil and the broccoli florets dropped in it. They were only cooked for a few minutes so that they still retained some firmness. They were scooped out of the water and placed in the frying pan with the onion mix.

The penne was now added to the boiling water. When it was cooked it was drained and I added it to the frying pan of vegetables. Some more olive oil was drizzled over and seasonings added. All was now mixed together and put on the serving plates with some grated parmesan cheese.

The recipe called for the penne to go straight to the serving plates and for the vegetable mix to be placed over it. I preferred to have them mixed prior to serving.

It’s difficult to fail with a pasta dish. This was a pleasant change from some others that I have tried; the broccoli with the little bursts of flavour from pine nuts and salty green olives made for a very acceptable dish. I am finding that I am beginning to be more and more attracted to what I am finding in this cookbook.

Taste: ✔✔✔ 

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔