Rigatoni pasta with broccoli cream, pancetta & walnuts
A delicious Northern Italian winter recipe that's a tasty way to get the kids to eat their greens!
Servings: 4
Calories: 861kcal
Ingredients
- 400 g rigatoni pasta (or penne, fusilli etc)
- 1 medium broccoli
- 1 small garlic clove peeled
- 200 g pancetta cubes (or lardons)
- 1 handful walnuts
- 90 g parmesan cheese grated
- 3-4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- salt for cooking and to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Begin by washing and cutting the broccoli into pieces and cooking it in salted boiling water for about 10 minutes (until al dente).
- Meanwhile, cook the pancetta cubes in a small frying pan with just a little oil (it has its own fat) until the pieces are browned and crispy! Remove the pancetta from the pan and set aside.
- When it’s ready, remove the broccoli from the cooking water, but keep the water (you can use a slotted spoon). Remove a cupful of the water and bring it to the boil again. If necessary add some more water.
- Cook the pasta al dente in the boiling water according to the instructions on the packet.
- Put most the cooked broccoli (save a few small florets for serving) into a bowl (if you have a hand held blender) or food blender, add 2-3 tablespoon of olive oil, half the grated Parmesan, the walnuts, the garlic and some salt and pepper to taste and blend with some of the cooking water until you get a creamy consistency.
- When the pasta is ready, save a little more cooking water, drain the pasta and return it to the pan.
- Add the broccoli cream and mix together well. If the sauce seems dry, add some more of the cooking water. (depends how creamy you like it)
- Serve immediately sprinkled with the pancetta, some small broccoli florets and more grated parmesan.
Notes
I used pistachio flavoured rigatoni for this dish but other short pastas work well too. You can use penne, fusilli, tortiglioni and even long pasta such as spaghetti or linguine.
If you don't like garlic, just leave it out!
For a vegetarian version omit the pancetta and sprinkle with more crushed walnuts.
If you have leftovers you can bake them in the oven with a few pieces of butter on top and more grated cheese!
Nutrition
Calories: 861kcal | Carbohydrates: 87g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 748mg | Potassium: 856mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1143IU | Vitamin C: 136mg | Calcium: 369mg | Iron: 3mg