spicy broccoli pasta.

We're always looking for ways to get broccoli into the diet. It's a commonly hated on vegetable, which is sad... because with the right moves up your sleeve, broccoli becomes a sweet veggie treat that everyone can get down with.

This is our recipe for spicy broccoli pasta with italian sausage.

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 spicy italian sausage links, about 1/2 lb.

3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon crushed dried chili flakes

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

1 head of broccoli, trimmed to florets and blanched

1/2 cup dried penne pasta, cooked

1/4-1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 tablespoon, tomato paste

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 tablespoon fresh basil, shredded

fresh grated Parmesan, to-taste

salt and fresh cracked pepper, to-taste

Blanch the broccoli in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Shock in ice water to stop the cooking process.

Cook the penne pasta to specifications and reserve, keeping it more al dente than fully cooked.

Remove the casing from the sausages and break the uncased sausage into little bite sized chunks. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat add the olive oil and the sausage. Cook until the pork sausage is nicely browned and caramelized, remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and reserve on paper towels. Add the sliced garlic, crushed peppers and fennel seed. Cook until fragrant; about 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat source and add the white wine, stirring to collect the brown bits of fond in the pan. Add the tomato paste, salt, reserved sausage, cooked broccoli and cooked pasta to the pan, stir and let the wine reduce. (If the pan is already dry add a bit more white wine.) Once reduced add the basil, check for seasoning. Plate and serve with fresh grated parmesan.

For a slight variation; add one finely chopped anchovy filet along with the garlic and chile peppers, amazing.

--Jd--