PASTA WITH ROASTED BROCCOLI & ALMONDS

PASTA WITH BROCCOLI & ALMONDS

Living in Sarawak, the "Land of Noodles" doesn't mean that Mike and I don't often crave the Italian version: pasta. In fact, whether it's spaghetti, tagliatelle, lasagne, macaroni, fettuccine, penne, ravioli, linguine, pappardelle, farfalle or any of the splendid varieties of pasta on the supermarket shelves, we make a point of having pasta at least once, or maybe even twice a week. (Hey, if Sophia Loren can eat pasta every day, we can eat it once or twice a week!) Of course, not all pastas are readily available here but when I find some of the more unusual varieties, I snap them up and pop the packets in the freezer to use whenever we get the craving. (It's the tropics - I keep everything in the freezer!) What I love about pasta is it's a no-brainer to prepare and it's so versatile. Just pick your favourite pasta and use what's in the fridge to make up your own recipe. Here's an example. Easy as pie....I mean pasta.

INGREDIENTS for 4

500g pasta of your choice (fettuccine shown here)

1 head broccoli, broken into small florets

splash of extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

2 tbsps butter

1 small tin anchovies

red pepper flakes to taste

100g flaked almonds

METHOD

Preheat oven to 210C.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and add your pasta.

Cook to packet instructions or until al dente.

Drain the pasta, reserving one cup of the salted pasta water.

In a roasting tray, toss your broccoli florets with olive oil and a generous helping of sea salt and black pepper.

Roast in the hot oven for about 20 minutes or until you see the broccoli is getting a little brown around the edges.

Remove from oven.

In a separate dry frypan, toast the almond flakes until they turn golden and are fragrant. Watch them. They can burn quickly.

Place your toasted almonds in a separate bowl, wipe the frypan and add the butter.

On a medium heat, add the anchovies and red pepper flakes to taste and cook for about two minutes.

Then add the reserved pasta water and cook for another two minutes until the mixture emulsifies.

Add your pasta to the pan and stir to coat the noodles.

Add your roasted broccoli and toss through.

Finally, add your toasted almonds and serve straight away.

(You can add some grated Parmesan if you like, but we love it just like this.)

😋