Saturday Lunch, Whole Wheat Rotini, Romanesco Broccoli, and Cannelini Beans

That THING that I thought was a haphazardly discarded stump in our produce box was actually THIS. (Thank you Kristin!) Romanesco Broccoli!

Here is the photo I took when it arrived (taken with my iPhone, which has the eyesight of a mole in the dark).

It was green and spiky and most people told me it was a biological weapon, or kryptonite, or solient green - but no, it is more like the love child of a broccoli and cauliflower, with spikes.

It is also very, very tasty.

Produce box:

romanesco broccoli

on hand:

whole wheat rotini

garlic

olive oil

asiago cheese, grated

red pepper flakes

basil, about a handful, roughly chopped

cannelini beans, drained

Cut the leaves off the broccoli and place in a pot of salted water (try as I might the dern thing kept floating, so good for you if you can cover the thing with water, but I gave up). I boiled it for ten minutes with a lid on the pot.

Remove with a slotted spoon and chop into pieces, throwing out the tough remaining pieces of stalk.



Set aside. Add the pasta to the same pot of water and follow directions on box. Drain pasta and set aside. In a separate pan saute 1 Tbsp. garlic with a teaspoon red pepper flakes until garlic is slightly brown. Pour onto pasta, add basil, romanesco broccoli pieces, cannelini beans. Serve topped with grated asiago cheese.