Creamy Broccoli and Sausage Pasta

It rains broccolis in my house during winters. My mother gets them from the vegetable market everyday and I am left to conjure up something new with it. I am generally a bit averse to having broccoli as a main ingredient in a dish, but don't really mind eating it as a sidekick. After exhausting my options as soups, stir-fries and bakes, I got down to making a simple pasta dish with it. Now only broccoli would make me pretty much neutral to what I've cooked, so I added a generous helping of sausages to the pasta. A little bit of cream/milk ensured the smoothness and a last minute shaving of parmesan elevated the taste notches higher. Broccoli-lover or non-lover, this should go down well with you too!

Ingredients:

Pasta: 200 gm (I used penne)

Broccoli, cut into florets: 1 head 

Pork sausages, diced: 5-6 (You can used chicken sausages, or even bacon or salami for 

that matter)

Garlic, finely chopped: 1.5 tsp

Milk/Cream: 3/4th cup

Parmesan cheese: 2-3 tbsp (plus for garnish)

Salt, to taste (I used garlic salt)

Black pepper powder: 1 tsp

Olive oil: 1 tbsp

Method:

1. In a non-stick pan, heat the olive oil and fry the sausages till brown and the edges are crispy. Drain on kitchen towel and set aside.

2. In a deep-bottomed saucepan, bring to boil 2 litres of water along with a drop or two of olive oil and some salt. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions till al dente. In the last three minutes, add the broccoli florets to the boiling pasta so that they get steamed as well. Reserve a cup of pasta water, drain the remaining water. Separate the broccoli from the pasta and run them under cold water. 

3. To the remaining oil in the pan where you fried the sausages in, add garlic and sauté for 45 minutes or so. Add the broccoli and sauté for another minute. Add the fried sausages and cook for a minute, all in medium-high heat. 

4. Now add the cream/milk, salt, pepper, bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes till the sauce is rich and creamy. Add the parmesan and allow to melt in the cream sauce.

5. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well. You can add the pasta water at this stage bit by bit to get your desired consistency. Let the entire thing cook for a couple of minutes more.

6. Plate up and serve hot with parmesan shavings as garnish.

If you like what you see here, don't forget to hop on to my Facebook page and click the "Like" button. All Guilt Free posts will reach you in your newsfeed. :)