Description
A vibrant and flavorful pasta dish combining tender trofie pasta and purple sprouting broccoli with a rich anchovy, garlic, and preserved lemon sauce, topped with crispy chilli and lemon zest breadcrumbs for an added crunchy contrast.
Ingredients
Scale
Sauce
- 8 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp oil from the anchovy jar
- 100g butter
- 2 red onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 small preserved lemons, seeds and flesh removed, skin finely chopped
Pasta and Vegetables
- 400g trofie pasta (or another small pasta shape)
- 300g purple sprouting broccoli
- 1 lemon, juiced
- Salt, to season the pasta water
Chilli Lemon Crumbs
- 2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
- 150g fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 lemon, zested
- 2 good pinches of dried chilli flakes
Instructions
- Prepare the anchovy sauce: Drizzle the anchovy oil into a large frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add the finely chopped anchovies and stir for a couple of minutes, breaking them up to release their flavor.
- Add butter and onions: Add the butter to the pan, swirling it around until melted and foaming. Stir in the thinly sliced red onions and gently cook for about 10 minutes, until they become soft and translucent.
- Add garlic and preserved lemon: Stir in the sliced garlic and finely chopped preserved lemon skin and cook for an additional minute to blend the flavors.
- Cook pasta and broccoli: Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil (using kettle-hot water). Add the trofie pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the purple sprouting broccoli to the same pot and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente and the broccoli is tender but still crisp.
- Reserve pasta water and drain: Scoop out a mugful of the hot pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander.
- Make the chilli lemon crumbs: In a separate frying pan, heat the olive or rapeseed oil. Add the fresh breadcrumbs and stir regularly until golden and crispy. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and dried chilli flakes.
- Combine pasta with sauce: Add the drained pasta and broccoli to the anchovy sauce in the frying pan. Pour in a good splash of the reserved pasta water and squeeze in the lemon juice. Cook while stirring for a few minutes until the sauce is silky and coats the pasta evenly. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Serve: Plate the pasta and sprinkle generously with the crispy chilli lemon crumbs for texture and an added burst of flavor.
Notes
- Preserved lemons can be found in specialty stores or made at home by curing lemons in salt.
- If trofie pasta is unavailable, substitute with other small pasta shapes like fusilli or orecchiette.
- Adjust the amount of chilli flakes in the crumbs to suit your preferred spice level.
- Reserve some pasta water to loosen the sauce and help it coat the pasta perfectly.
- For a vegetarian option, omit anchovies and add capers or olives for a salty flavor.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: pasta, purple sprouting broccoli, anchovies, preserved lemon, garlic, chilli crumbs, Italian, easy dinner, vibrant pasta dish
