Broccoli & Rigatoni, a classic meatless meal
This meal is classic Mediterranean. You can find Broccoli and Rigatoni on many restaurant menus served as a main course.
If you are one of the many diners that have enjoyed broccoli and rigatoni at restaurant prices, you are going to absolutely love this recipe. It is as good as you can get. And let’s talk about economical! This recipe has two main ingredients, a box of rigatoni and a pound of broccoli. How is that for a cheap meal?
Using vegetables as a main course
I was raised in a meat and potatoes family and jokingly refer to myself as a carnivore. I am not really a carnivore, I wait for the meat to be somewhat cooked 🤗. At our house, meat and potatoes were usually served with a spoonful of canned vegetables on the side.
Suffice to say, I would NOT have come home to see a bowl of broccoli and rigatoni on the table.
My Mediterranean mentors
This recipe is one of Ricky’s. He and his sister Maureen are lifelong friends and both are great cooks.
Ricky and Maureen’s mother was of Sicilian heritage and her nightly dinners typically included a lot of fresh vegetables. So it is no surprise then that Ricky uses a variety of fresh vegetables in his dinners too. He has helped me to integrate fresh vegetables in my cooking. I really appreciate that he cooks vegetables in a way that preserves a lot of the natural flavor and nutrients. This recipe is an outstanding example of that.
If you are looking for a simple and delicious, hearty meatless meal, this one won’t let you down.
Do you like broccoli?
Broccoli is one of the vegetables that’s always on the “foods we should eat” lists. No matter what the calamity, it seems broccoli can ward it off.
I have come to the reckoning that nutrition counts. And that means I need to eat more vegetables more often. I am envious of people I know who never get their fill of vegetables. They really love them. I want to love them too.
One the roadblocks on the way to learning to love vegetables is not knowing what to do with them. I need recipes that make a vegetable I want to love, loveable. This pasta dish with broccoli has won me over. Who knew I could like broccoli without it being smothered in cheese? With only a few ingredients, this recipe is simple to make and simply delicious.
If this recipe can make me like broccoli as a main ingredient, other doubters may find they can like broccoli too. Maybe you or someone at your dinner table has snubbed broccoli in the past. This recipe might work it’s magic on you too. What’s to loose? Your investment is the price of a pound of broccoli and a box of pasta.
This is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to see if you too might enjoy the taste and health benefits of broccoli.
Already a broccoli fan?
If you are a fan of broccoli this recipe might offer you a twist that could have you liking it even more. In this recipe we steam the broccoli.
Steaming has a lot of advantages and broccoli brings the best of them to the front. Steaming does not add calories and it retains valuable nutrients.
When you steam broccoli it enhances the bright green color and the shape stays intact. You can see what I mean by the feature picture.
Another advantage to steaming is it is quick and easy. Want to know more about steaming? Check out our post Steaming …. Fully Exposed.
Here’s what YOU WILL NEED:
| 1 large head of broccoli (about 1 pound) |
| 8 whole cloves of fresh garlic |
| 1 ½ cups water |
| ¼ cup olive oil |
| 2 teaspoons dried oregano |
| 1 teaspoon salt |
| 1 teaspoon black pepper |
| 1 pound rigatoni |
| Freshly grated parmesan cheese optional but recomended |
About the ingredients
See the dried oregano on the plate with the salt and pepper? It doesn’t look like the kind you get in a jar from the store. That’s my own homegrown oregano. I grow a small variety of the herbs that I use most often.
I get a sense of satisfaction from using herbs that I have grown myself. The enjoyment I get in using them and the flavor boost I get in my cooking, makes it is well worth the little effort it takes to grow them. You don’t need a whole garden, you only need a few plant pots to grow herbs. You can see my fresh oregano growing along with some other herbs in Back Porch Herb Garden.
We have some more information about cooking with herbs, fresh vs dried, in our posts Cooking with Herb, It’s Drying Time Again and Bottle the Bounty. I am hooked on growing herbs.
Why whole garlic cloves?
Leaving the garlic cloves whole works best in this recipe. If possible, don’t substitute whole cloves with bottled chopped or minced garlic. You get a more mild flavor from cooked whole garlic cloves. The ingredients in this recipe are mild in flavor. So the taste of garlic flavor needs to be subtle or it will take over.
When the garlic cloves have finished the job of flavoring the broth and the broccoli, they will be very tender. The simmered and seasoned broth is going to be used as a sauce for the pasta. The softened cloves break up as you mix the sauce with the rigatoni leaving a subtle and mellow garlic flavor.
The idea of whole cloves being more mild than chopped may seem counter intuitive but it is true. Chopping and mincing brings out a much harsher flavor than leaving the cloves whole. Not sure of what is meant by a clove of garlic check out our cooking tidbit All About Garlic.
Don’t forget the cheese
This dish is made even better when served with freshly grated parmesan cheese on top. Pre-grated cheeses are no match for cheese grated from the block. When cheese is grated before it is sold, additives are necessary so the cheese doesn’t stick together. Those additives also change the way the cheese melts.
Pre-grated cheese from the refrigerated cheese section of the grocery store is good enough for me in many recipes, but for this meal I only use the real thing. The salty richness of flavor and creamy texture from freshly grated parmesan really stands out against the more subtle flavors of the broccoli and pasta.
Ricky wants me to tell you that red pepper flakes are great on this too!
This is WHAT TO DO:
Have you ever steamed vegetables?
Have you ever used a steaming basket? Steaming is a good cooking method to use when you want to preserve the appearance and the food value of vegetables.
In this recipe we are steaming our broccoli. If you are not familiar with using steam for cooking, you might consider reading our post Steaming …. Fully Exposed. In it we talk about the ins and outs of this cooking technique.
Prepare the broccoli and garlic
Divide the head of broccoli into pieces you can work with. If you are going to use the stalk you should peel the skin off before you chop it up. Broccoli can look pretty fancy when served with the florets (the fuzzy tops) in tact. Since rigatoni is such a hearty pasta, florets of broccoli do not dominate the plate when served.
Cut the broccoli into bite sized pieces that are uniform in size. That ensures all the pieces will be done at the same time. Stating the obvious, the larger you chop the pieces, the longer it will take to cook.
If you want to learn more about how to prepare broccoli check out Preparing Broccoli. It walks you though taking a head of broccoli and cutting it up into florets.
You can chop the broccoli as small or as large as you want, just keep the size uniform for even cooking.
Garlic
Peel the skin off the whole garlic cloves.
Make the steaming broth
The broth has a duel role
It’s not necessary to make a broth for steaming. It’s pretty typical to use just water. But in this recipe we are going to use the seasoned broth to create the steam that will cook the broccoli. The steam mingles the flavors of the broccoli and the seasoned broth right from the start.
When the broth finishes the work of steaming, we are going to be mixing it into the rigatoni as a sauce. The broth does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to the flavor of this dish. It’s the difference between a good plate of broccoli and rigatoni and a great one!
Making the broth could not be easier. Add the water, olive oil, whole garlic cloves, oregano, salt and pepper to the saucepan that you are using to steam the broccoli. Then we are going to simmer these ingredients for about a half hour to mingle those flavors before steaming the broccoli.
All the ingredients for the steaming broth are in the saucepan. Before we start steaming the broccoli we are going to simmer the broth for about 1/2 hour to integrate all the flavors.
Bring the broth to a simmer, then cover the saucepan with a tight lid. Simmer for 30 minutes (1/2 and hour).
This is the steaming broth after simmering for 1/2 an hour. As you can see, the water and oil are somewhat incorporated. The dried oregano has rehydrated in the warm liquid. The garlic cloves are already getting tender.
There’s a lot of flavor in the broth already.
Steam the broccoli over the broth
Let’s start steaming
Put the chopped broccoli in your steaming basket, leaving as much room between the pieces as possible.
Bring the broth to a boil.
Once the broth is boiling, insert the steaming basket and cover the saucepan with a tight fitting lid. If steam starts escaping from under the cover, turn the heat down. Steam is water evaporating. If you let too much steam escape from your saucepan you are going to be left with a burned saucepan and no sauce.
Note: Inserting the steaming basket after the broth is boiling can only be done with the type of saucepan and steaming basket (with handles) that are shown in these pictures. If you are using another type of steaming basket that sits close to the bottom of the saucepan, you cannot bring the broth to a boil first. In that case, insert the basket with the broccoli in it before the broth gets hot and put the cover on.
Here’s the chopped broccoli in the steaming basket. The steaming basket has been placed into the saucepan with the broth.
If you have read our post about steaming, you may recognize my 50+ year old saucepan. If you missed it, you can read more about steaming and the value of tried and true kitchen equipment in Steaming… Fully Exposed.
Is it done yet?
Well that’s really up to you.
How tender the broccoli should be is a personal choice. Many people like some crunch left in their cooked vegetables. Others prefer it tender. Cooking time is going to vary depending on how you like your broccoli and the size that you cut the broccoli pieces. The more tender you want the broccoli, the more time it will need to cook.
After 3- 5 minutes of steaming, check the broccoli to see if it’s done. Be very careful as you remove the cover. Quite a bit of steam pressure has built up in the saucepan as the liquid has been boiling. That pressure is going to cause steam to blow up and out in all directions as soon as you remove the cover. Protect your forearm with a long oven mit or towel. And don’t expose your face to the steam by leaning over the saucepan as you uncover it. Steam will burn exposed skin immediately and a burn from steam can be very painful, even dangerous.
After you have safely removed the cover from the saucepan, check the broccoli in the steaming basket to see if it is done. I just poke it with a fork to find out if it’s done. If you are not sure, there is a fool proof way to tell if it is cooked enough. Eat a piece. Keep the cover off the pan for as little time as possible. Remember, steam is evaporating and you are losing heat.
If the broccoli needs to cook more put the cover back on the saucepan to continue steaming. Check again in 2-3 minutes.
Cook the rigatoni
Now that you have the broccoli on the stove cooking, it’s time to start cooking the rigatoni. Drain the pasta when it’s done and put it back in the saucepan. If you are not done steaming the broccoli, mix a splash of olive oil into the pasta to keep it from sticking together.
Here is our cooked pasta which has been drained.
The broccoli is cooked and the steaming broth that was used to steam it is in the saucepan behind it.
Notice how deep and rich the broth is at this point.
Add the broth to the rigatoni
Mix the rigatoni and the steaming broth together.
The softened garlic cloves are going to break up as you stir the broth into the pasta and leave a mild garlic flavor throughout.
The steaming broth and pasta are mixed together. You can see some pieces of garlic along the sides of the saucepan and some plumped up oregano leaves too.
Time to add the broccoli
As the final step, add the cooked broccoli to your pasta.
If appearance counts, turn the broccoli in gently. That will help to keep the florets (fuzzy tops) intact. If you don’t care if the broccoli looks pretty, you don’t have to be as gentle when you are mixing the broccoli into the rigatoni. If your broccoli breaks up in the pasta as you mix, the meal will taste just as good. Maybe even better.
Serve immediately, while it’s still hot.
Serve
Broccoli and Rigatoni
Equipment
- a steaming basket
Ingredients
- 1 head broccoli large about ¾ to 1 pound
- 8 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 pound rigatoni
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
- Chop the broccoli into uniform pieces, sized to your liking. Uniform sizes will ensure the pieces are all be done at the same time.
- Peel the cloves of garlic and leave them whole.
Cooking Instructions
- Use a saucepan that fits your steaming basket. Add the water, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper to the pan. This is your steaming broth. Bring the broth to a simmer and cover the pan with a tight fitting lid. Simmer for 1/2 hour (30 minutes).
- While the broth is simmering put water on to boil the pasta.
- After simmering the broth, remove the saucepan from the heat. Put the steaming basket with the chopped broccoli in it into the saucepan. Bring the broth to a boil and cover with a tight fitting lid. If steam starts escaping, turn the heat down, but keep the broth at a boil. You need to maintain enough steam in the pan to cook the broccoli.
- Check broccoli after about 5 minutes to see how tender it is. It usually takes about 3-7 minutes, but your idea of tender enough, can mean more or less time. As with other cooking methods the hotter and pressurized the steam is, the quicker it will cook. After checking for doneness, if you need to cook more just put the cover back on and steam some more. Cook for 2- 3 minutes longer before checking again.
- While the broccoli is cooking, boil the pasta. Drain when cooked. If the pasta is done before the broccoli, mix in a splash of olive oil to keep it from sticking together.
- When the broccoli is done to your preference, take the steaming basket out of the pan, leaving the broccoli in it and set it aside.
- Add the steaming broth (not the broccoli yet) to the cooked pasta and toss in.
- Add the cooked broccoli to the pasta. If you want the broccoli florets to be kept in tact, gently fold the broccoli into the rigatoni, If the broccoli is on the tender side will break up pretty easily as you mix it in. The dish tastes just as good if the broccoli breaks up a bit into pasta. maybe even better.