Orecchiette with Broccoli and Garlic

I was watching Best Recipes Ever today and this wonderful recipe was on and I just so happened to have all of the ingredients except for 2 (and I was headed to the grocery store anyways) so I just HAD to try it! If you love garlic, you may just love this recipe like we did.

The Recipe:
1 bunch broccoli
4 cups orecchiette pasta
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
6 anchovy fillets, chopped (or 1 tbsp anchovy paste)
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cut broccoli into small florets; chop stems.

2. In large pot of boiling salted water, cook broccoli until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes.

3. With slotted spoon, transfer to bowl of ice water. Drain and set aside.

4. In same pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until tender but firm, 8 to 10 minutes.

5. Reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, drain and return to pot.

6. Meanwhile, in nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat.

7. Fry garlic, anchovies, hot pepper flakes and salt until garlic is fragrant and anchovies begin to break down, about 2 minutes.

8. Add broccoli to skillet; cook until heated through and garlic is beginning to turn golden, about 2 minutes.

9. Add to pasta along with reserved cooking liquid; toss to coat. 10. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.
 

My Experience:
Just a note to begin with, I have never bought anchovy fillets before. After searching for a very long time in the canned fish section, I had the genius idea of looking at the fresh fish counter. So as an fyi, look for the anchovy fillets with the fresh fish because although they are canned, they are kept cold in the fridge. But it looks just like a can of sardines.

Now for the recipe, YUM! I love garlic and there is definitely a lot of garlic in this recipe but it is phenomenal, easy and worth a try. A tip for the garlic: to get it thinly sliced, try using a peeler (a potato peeler) to save some time and when you get near the end and can't quite hold on to the garlic anymore, then slice with a knife.

I wasn't able to find orecchiette pasta (I have no clue where to find it but they kind of look like shell pasta) so I just used some egg noodles. So if you can't find it, just use what you have for pasta.

Here is some nutritional info per serving for you!
cal                 305
protein            13 g
total fat             7 g
sat. fat              2 g
carb                48 g
fibre                  4 g
chol                   7 mg
sodium           699 mg
%RDI:               -
calcium            11%
iron                 16%
vit A                 2%
vit                   97%
folate              54%