Perciatelli With Baby Broccoli, Tomatoes and Anchovies
- 1/4 cup golden raisins or currants (optional)
- 1 pound baby broccoli
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 anchovy fillets, rinsed and chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 pound tomatoes, grated, or 1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes, with juice
- 8 imported black olives, pitted and chopped
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 3/4 pound perciatelli (also sold as bucatini) or spaghetti
- 2 to 4 tablespoons grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese
- Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with warm water.
- Let sit for 20 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add the baby broccoli.
- Blanch for 4 minutes and, using a skimmer or tongs, transfer to a bowl of cold water.
- Drain and shake out excess water.
- If the stems are thick and hard, peel.
- Chop coarsely.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the garlic.
- Cook, stirring, until it smells fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute, and add the anchovies, thyme and tomatoes.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the olives.
- Drain the raisins or currants and add, along with the broccoli and about 1/4 cup of the cooking water from the broccoli.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is very tender and the sauce is fragrant.
- Keep warm while you cook the pasta.
- Bring the water back to a boil and cook the pasta al dente, following the timing instructions on the package.
- Check the sauce and if it seems dry add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
- Drain the pasta and transfer to the pan with the sauce.
- Toss together and serve, sprinkled with pecorino or Parmesan.
- If desired, drizzle a little olive oil over each serving.
golden raisins, broccoli, salt, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, anchovy, thyme, tomatoes, black olives, freshly ground pepper, perciatelli, pecorino
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015165 (may not work)