by Carla Baron

Created on: December 06, 2008   Last Updated: September 13, 2011

Broccoli with pasta is one of my family's favorite pasta dishes. We make ours with tomato sauce. It's a healthy dish and actually very good if you are dieting. Pasta dishes are fun and can be so different that you can eat them everyday and never be sick of them. At least I can. The variety of sauces and ingredients you can use and the different types of pasta make every dish unique.

Broccoli and pasta for instance. You can make this a very quick and simple way by using frozen broccoli or you can take a little more time and make it with fresh broccoli You can even use left over broccoli if plain or in oil and garlic. Prepare your broccoli, separate the bunch and cut it the way you like it, now boil or steam it until it's tender. Cut it up into pieces about 1 inch or so and leave the buds intact. If you choose to use frozen microwave or boil it quickly just to get it defrosted and cut it the same if neccessary, unless you buy it already cut in pieces. Now your broccoli is ready. As the broccoli is cooking you can start your marinara sauce.

To make a simple marinara sauce for a pound of pasta you need the following:

One can of tomatoes, 28 oz or 35 oz We use the peeled tomatoes and crush them in the blender but you can buy crushed but you may have to add water to the sauce as it tends to be very thick.

1/3 cup of olive oil

3-4 cloves of garlic cut in half or quarters

Basil, fresh if you have it 2 leaves or 1/4 tsp dry or puree

1/4 tsp of salt, maybe a pinch more or less, that depends on you.

In a large frying pan saute your garlic in the oil, as soon as the garlic turns golden, turn down the heat and add your tomatoes and bring the flame down to a simmer. Add your salt and 2 leaves of basil .

If you use crushed tomotoes you may have to add water to thin it a bit or it will be too thick. Let the sauce simmer for 20 - 30 minutes and you are done.

Now add your broccoli and cook the broccoli in the sauce for another 15- 20 minutes. Have your pot of water boiling and throw your pasta in. We like spaghetti or linquine with this and we break it in half before cooking it. The pasta should be cooked within 15 minutes or so now drain it but be sure to leave a little bit of water in it do not drain it dry.

My mother actually fills a 1/2 cup as she drains it to keep on the side in case she needs to add it. You want this dish to be saucy and not really thick. Add your sauce and mix.

That's it you are ready to eat. If you like red crushed pepper it goes good with this dish. A nice glass of red wine and you're set.

Using 1 lb of pasta this recipe will easily feed four. If you need to make it for 6 use an additional 1/2 lb of pasta. Enjoy!

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