Pasta With Broccoli, Crispy Prosciutto, and Toasted Breadcrumbs

Submitted by alligirl

"Taken from chow. com and posted for ZWT. Originally from Aida Mollenkamp - "Even the staunchest broccoli-hater will be tempted by this pasta dish, in which the underappreciated veggie teams up with salty prosciutto and crunchy breadcrumbs. Keep these ingredients on hand for a quick and satisfying weeknight dinner." Pair this dish with a Pinot grigio with a nice body and a 'green' flavor."

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Yields: 4 entrees
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 lb broccoli floret, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 lb dried short pasta (such as penne or rotini)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, small dice
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium shallots, minced
• 2⁄3 cup panko breadcrumbs
• freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, for serving

directions

1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil over high heat.
2. Prepare an ice water bath by filling a bowl halfway with ice and water; set aside.
3. Once water boils, add broccoli and cook until just tender, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, remove broccoli and plunge in the ice water bath; return cooking water to a boil.
4. Remove broccoli from the ice water bath and place in a colander or strainer set over a bowl to drain.
5. Once cooking water returns to a boil, add pasta and cook according to the package directions.
6. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water.
7. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
8. Add prosciutto and cook until crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes.
9. Use a slotted spoon to remove prosciutto to a plate; set aside (and do not wash the pan).
10. Return the pan to the stove over medium-high heat; add remaining olive oil. When oil shimmers, add garlic and shallots, cooking until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
11. Stir in panko and cook until toasted and golden brown, about 2 minutes; remove from heat.
12. Return pasta to the pot and place over medium-low heat. Add reserved pasta water, broccoli, and prosciutto.
13. Taste pasta and adjust seasoning, adding more salt if necessary; stir until ingredients are well mixed and broccoli is heated through.
14. Transfer pasta to a serving platter and sprinkle panko mixture over top. Pass freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on the side.

Reviews

[Karen Elizabeth]

Simple and delicious, this was a great dinner, and visually pleasing too. I snaffled the leftovers for myself! Loved the broccoli, and especially the toasted breadcrumbs, always so good with pasta. Thank you Alligirl, lovely recipe, made for International Agents of QUEST, Italy.

 

[Realtor by day, Chef by night]

This was so good! I had some prosciutto that I needed to use up so this recipe did the trick. My family really thought this was great.

 

[mums the word]

This was just delicious and everyone enjoyed it. I did have to add more olive oil at the end as the pasta was a bit too dry, so I added about 1 tbsp olive oil and a bit more of the pasta water. I think that the next time I make this, I shall put more oil in with the proscuitto. The bread crumbs added great texture to the dish. Will definitely make this again, thx Alligirl!

 

[Nif_H]

Thanks alligirl for an amazing dinner! This was such a great blend of flavours and textures and we all really enjoyed it. There's a lot of food and this could easily feed 6 people. The only thing I did differently was not use shallots, only because I was out of them. Delicious!! Made for Everyday's a Holiday Tag Game. Thanks again alligirl! :)

 

[Lori Mama]

A breeze to make. I increased the pasta water, as I think these types of recipes need a tad more moisture. Made for Everyday Holiday Tag Game. :)