Not Without Salt

Before we get to the ice cream it is only appropriate that we eat our vegetables first. My mother taught me well.

While the color of this dish might be one that only Oscar the Grouch approves of don’t let the murky-brown hue taint your taste buds. This dish is rich and incredibly satisfying. The best part is that it uses a very common (and extremely nutritious) vegetable in an uncommon way.

Broccoli as a thick and creamy pasta sauce? You’ve got to be kidding me!

Oh I kid you not!

The recipe comes from, “Home Cooking” by Laurie Colwin. First of all if you have not read this book put it at the top of your to-do list. (Also add, “More Home Cooking”). Her writing is charming and light. She and I spent hours together sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee in hand as she told me about her life and the food that illustrates it.

Well, she wasn’t actually sitting next to me but it sure felt like it.

My second favorite part of the recipe, with the first being the dish itself, is how she got away with writing it.

“Now to broccoli. How some people hate it! However, it turns into a sleek, rich pasta sauce. First you steam it. Then you saute it in dark green olive oil with two cloves of garlic until the garlic is soft. Then you toss it all in the blender with pepper, a pinch of salt, the jice of half a lemon, more olive oil and serve it on penne or ziti or fusilli with lots of grate cheese, and no one will suspect what is being served.” (Home Cooking, pg. 60)

I love that there are no restrictions, no measurements and is left open to so much interpretation. She gives us the outline and lets us color in the rest and if we choose to color outside the lines, it’s encouraged.

I followed the “recipe” fairly close except for the addition of chili flakes while sauteing (I left out the pepper). I uses oodles of Parmesan cheese to serve.

Now quick go make this so you can devour the ice cream and sorbet with a clear conscience knowing you ate your vegetables first.