Double Broccoli Pasta Salad

    This pasta salad is loaded with two types of broccoli cooked 3 different ways to form one unique take on Summer\’s favorite side dish.

    Ingredients

    • 1 Pound Rotini
    • 1 Large Head of Broccoli
    • 10 Stalks Broccoli Rabe
    • 1 Clove Garlic
    • 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
    • 2 Tablespoons Mustard
    • 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
    • 1 Teaspoon Hot Sauce

    Instructions

    1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice and water. Roughly chop/break up the broccoli. Take the broccoli tops off your broccoli rabe. Boil the broccoli and the tops of the rabe for about 3 minutes. Remove from pot and put directly into an ice bath.
    2. Take the broccoli from the ice bath and chop the stems off the broccoli. Keep the stems and put everything else into the food processor with the garlic, oil, mustard, soy sauce, and hot sauce. Pulse until somewhat smooth but still has texture. Meanwhile drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until tender. Strain the pasta and pour into a bowl. Mix in the broccoli mixture and stir well.
    3. Slice the broccoli stems into planks and add to the pasta. Chop up the leaves of the broccoli rabe and add it to the pasta as well. Still and refrigerate until cooled before serving.

    Notes

    It’s gonna be all grilling on here for the next two weeks, so I thought today would be good to make a nice side to go with all the grilling action.  I love pasta salad and I am always trying to do something new and fun with it and this version was great.  It is double broccoli because it has regular broccoli and broccoli rabe, but I was thinking of even calling it triple broccoli because of how some of the broccoli is pureed, some is blanched, and some is raw and chopped.  It’s also really healthy by mistake, there is no mayo, and I was going to add some cheese but it was really good without it so I just left it out.

    I don’t usually blanch stuff, I think it is the worst cooking method because you lose flavor in the cooking liquid, but I thought it would be the best way to cook the broccoli for this recipe.  I wanted it to be just slightly cooked so I boiled it for only 3 minutes and then put it into the ice bath.
    Not much in here other than broccoli and pasta, just some garlic, mustard, hot sauce, soy sauce, and olive oil.
    Puree the broccoli into a rough pesto texture.
    I saved the stems and cut them into planks, and roughly chopped up the raw broccoli rabe.
    Yes!  It’s so good.  Perfect with a steak or some grilled chicken legs.
    A nice balance of bitter and salty with a flavor that lingers on your tongue.
    I made some smoked chicken drumsticks that are shown here in the background, and they should be up here tomorrow.