Fusilli With Broccoli and Anchovies

Following what I have learned from reading and cooking from Mark Bittman's Food Matters Cookbook, I halved the quantity of pasta. I used a whole 2 oz. can of anchovies and the oil from the can instead of the olive oil, 4 garlic cloves, included chopped peeled stems in addition to the florets, doubled the red pepper flakes, added chopped toasted walnuts at the end, and served with plenty of grated asiago cheese, which is sharper and stronger than pecorino or Parmesan. It was great.

You really don't taste the anchovies. They are there for depth. You can remedy blandness by adding a healthy dose of pecorino romano at the end. And I can't imagine this without garlic. You can also start the broccoli in olive oil and garlic (and anchovies or not) adding water to keep it going. Cook it to death. Really. It reaches a different state of being. At the risk of being a real pest, may I ask if the pasta in the picture is really fusilli or is it gemelli?

Why waste the stems? Peel off the tough outer layer and dice and throw in with the florets.

I've had this many times. For a pound of pasta, I'd use four large cloves of garlic. Two seems too timid.

Please, no Sriracha, soy sauce or Worcestershire. This is a southern Italian dish. If you want to bump up the flavor add red pepper flakes and more anchovy and garlic.

Made twice, once as directed, second time using a full head of fresh garlic. I also cut the work by putting all/ full head of broccoli in food processor to chop, cooked garlic and anchovies in olive oil, threw in the chopped broccoli, stirred until coated. High heat, added a ladle of pasta water, lid, cooked until water evaporated. Then I added the pasta. Again evaporated the little water clinging to pasta. Added cheese. It was better/delicious the second way of fixing it and less work.

As someone previously wrote,in the photo those are gemelli and not fusilli,no problem though,they are similar.Just do NOT use Pasta Barilla,I live in Italy and it is the worst brand,use pasta De Cecco or even better pasta Garofalo.One can substitute broccoletti(as said in Italy)or broccoli siciliani(deep green broccoli)or broccoli romaneschi(lighter green florets growing in a spiral around the stem).Better using only the florets,forget your puritan guilt,throw away any stems!

A classic recipe. Try it with a couple of tablespoons of colatura, the pungent juice that comes from anchovy pressing. It adds incredible depth to this dish.

We cooked two bunches of broccolini and puréed the whole lots heads and stems and added 5 cloves of garlic and extra dried chilies- half a jar of anchovies, unrinsed. Then I added juice from 2 lemons. Colatura would be FANTASTIC here and even more dried chilies... This was so good and so perfect on a cold winter night! And easy and fast. Thank you!

I agree--I never waste the stems--I always slice, chop, or julienne them and throw them in with the rest of the broccoli.

Thanks, SR, for the terrific suggestion! I avoid cooking meat, but your suggestion "to introduce some savoury/umami flavours" inspired me to select oil-cured olives to substitute for the anchovies (that only I like, in my household).

I chopped the olives into small bits and added them to the pan just before tossing in the cooked broccolini (whose stems I sliced very fine).

The 16-year-old and the 24-year-old RAVED about the dish. It's earned a place in our rotation!

Love this recipe. Marcella Hazan uses orecchiette and leaves out the garlic.

NJ cook:
Unless, of course, you're British, or if you live in the parts of the USA which have kept that particular linguistic legacy, you can "Chop the ​carrots very finely." and still be understood.
(see Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary, Cambridge University Press, 2016)

Made this with the penne I had on hand, cooked the broccoli till it was falling apart on its own, put pepper flakes in the oil w/anchovies. Folded in pecorino romano at the end.

Smells delicious as it cooks, tastes almost as good, but was a tad bland. Could use more anchovies or heaps of black pepper, and the twisty pasta would definitely have been better for holding onto the sauce.

Overall easy it was to make, filling, didn't leave me logey, and was a good way to get in good veg.

Using what Americans call "Chinese broccoli" or broccolini might work better in this type of recipe, where one is cooking the vegetable longer.

If using 'regular' broccoli, note the recipe says to generously salt the water - to help eliminate any bland taste, which is noted in some comments. Also, I'd consider stir frying the broccoli in a little olive oil and chopped garlic, and sprinkling some salt after the broccoli is coated with oil, to enhance flavor.