Penne pasta tossed in garlicky broccoli and olive oil with a hint of heat from red pepper flakes topped with plenty of Parmesan cheese for serving. Simple, easy and completely delicious.
Broccoli florets are cooked in a skillet with lots of olive oil and whole garlic cloves to infuse them with flavor. Once the broccoli is tender the whole cloves are taken out and minced garlic is added in along with red pepper flakes.
It’s tossed together with the pasta and finished with lots of Parmesan cheese.
This is the perfect meatless meal and even works as a side dish to chicken or steak. It’s also versatile meaning you can add to it – cooked chicken, shrimp or steak, more veggies and you can spice it up even more if you like with red pepper flakes.
You can find this in almost every Italian restaurant. It’s a classic.
Now you can make it at home.
Garlic, Broccoli & Olive Oil Pasta
Ingredients
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more if needed.
- 4 peeled whole cloves garlic smashed plus 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups broccoli florets fresh or frozen (thawed)
- sea salt and fresh black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 8 ounces penne pasta
- grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large frying pan fitted with a splatter screen and add the whole garlic cloves and the broccoli with a few dashes each of salt and pepper. Cook until the broccoli is fork tender, stirring often.
- Meanwhile cook the pasta to al dente in plenty of salted water.
- When the broccoli is tender remove the whole garlic cloves and discard them. Move the broccoli to the sides of the pan making a well in the middle.
- Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the well and stir until the garlic is fragrant about 2 minutes.
- Add the drained pasta and toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper and more red pepper flakes, if desired.
- Serve with lots of grated Parm and another drizzle of olive oil, if needed.