One of the great things I have found about group yoga classes, is that it is a wonderful way to meet new people and share in diverse cultures.  One of my fellow Ashatanga yogini’s is Sardinian and she once prepared lunch for me after class.  We went to her home where she made Broccoli Pasta and explained it’s frequently made back home, in Sardinia.  I had never tried Broccoli with pasta before, but what I enjoyed about this meal, was that it was full of flavour, easy to make after a yoga class, needed few ingredients and was very wholesome.

So after she kindly shared this recipe with me, I now share it with you.  I often find it difficult to cook and eat large amounts of green vegetables and am always looking for different ways to prepare them.  This recipe is super, as you eat large amounts of broccoli without necessarily realising it!

This recipe is enough for a meal for two people.

Ingredients – you will need:

2 cloves of garlic

Salt & pepper for seasoning

Olive oil

Pasta – I use Rigatoni

Broccoli – about 300g

Cheese – ideally parmesan, I often use cheddar as a substitute

Method – Heat a desert spoon of cooking oil in a saucepan.  Add two peeled cloves of garlic and gently fry until golden.  Add washed and diced broccoli to pan. Season with salt and pepper.  Cover and gently simmer on a low heat for 35 minutes (I like my broccoli really soft, it works well with this recipe).  Stir in between to check it is not sticking.  The broccoli will cook in its own water with the steam generated (so there is no need to add any extra water).

Empty the cooked broccoli into a bowl and cover to keep warm.

Add water to the same pan you cooked the broccoli in (a sufficient amount to cook the pasta), heat and bring to the boil.  Add the desired amount of pasta and salt to season.  Reduce the heat to allow the pasta to simmer.  Once cooked, drain the pasta, place it in a bowl and sprinkle with olive oil to taste.

Add the prepared cooked and warm broccoli.  Sprinkle with cheese.

Delicious.