Recipe by Chef Jonathan Bardzik
No really, it’s this simple – and so delicious. Tender broccoli microgreens are sweet and just a little earthy, balanced by salty, sharp Parmesan and rich, fresh basil oil. Add grilled chicken or cooked chick peas for a complete one-dish meal.
Basil Oil Ingredients:
½ cup olive oil
1 cup basil microgreens
Pasta Ingredients:
1 lb pasta like penne or farfalle
2 cups broccoli microgreens
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions:
1) Make basil oil: In a mortar and pestle or small bowl, crush the basil microgreens with the olive oil.
2) Make pasta: bring a 6-8 quart pot of water to a boil. Season with 2-3 tbs salt. Add pasta and cook until just a little firmer than al dente, about 3 minutes for fresh or 10 minutes for dried. You want to take a bite and say “I just want to cook it for one minute,” but don’t, reserve ½ cup cooking water and drain pasta.
3) Return pasta to pan with water. Strain basil over pasta and cook over medium-high heat until liquid reduces, finishing the pasta and coating it as a sauce. Remove from heat, toss through broccoli microgreens and Parmesan. Season with black pepper to serve.
TIP: Reserving a little pasta water is an Italian trick to finish pasta with the sauce. Do this with any sauce from pesto to marinara.
