A Spicy Broccolini Fettuccine, eh!

I've been trying to make less pasta recently; I realized that we have a whole lot of it. It's such an easy fall back, and really it's comfort food. I say that, with the follow up of, but I found this great new recipe and The Husband and I both love it.

I was on the hunt for some new soup recipes and I came across a Food and Wine recipe for a Spicy Broccoli Rabe pasta. Of course I went to the store and could not for the life of me find any broccoli rabe. So I did what I do best, and improvised. I picked up some broccolini and made adjustments. My final dish wasn't really much like the original recipe, other than a few basic ingredients. But it turned out really spectacularly. To the point where The Husband requested it again, soon. It's really easy and just involves a lot of chopping more than anything else. 

And you can make it as spicy or as mild as you'd like. The key ingredient, Harissa! I went to the store and picked up a good jar of pre-made stuff (if you're getting it pre-made, make sure it's good). It just made my life a lot easier, you can be awesome and make it yourself. 

This takes probably 30 minutes total but it tastes like you've spend forever. And the house smells really good.

Ingredients:

6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

1 Jalapeno, seeded and cut thin

2 large bunches of Broccolini 

1LB Fettuccine 

3 TBS Olive Oil

2 TBS Harissa (I went spicy, you can go mild)

2 Cups Fresh Parmiganio Reggiano, Grated

1/2 Cup Flat Leaf Parsley, Finely Chopped

1/4 Cup Fresh Mint Leaves, Finely Chopped

1 Cup Reserved Pasta Water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and put a pot of water on to boil the pasta in.

While you're waiting, chop the garlic, mint and parsley. The mint and parsley can be kept together, but keep the garlic separate.

On a lined sheet, place the broccolini and pour 2 TBS of the olive oil on top to coat. Add some salt. Place the broccolini in the oven and bake until tender, around 15 minutes.

In the mean time, add the pasta to the boiling water. Once this is done, place the remaining olive oil along with the garlic, harissa and jalapeno into a large saute pan and cook on medium heat. You want the garlic and jalapeno to soften. This should take around 5 minutes, make sure to stir.

When the broccolini is finished, place it in the sautee pan and coat with the harissa mixture.

Before dumping out the pasta, save one cup of the pasta water. Strain the pasta and add into the saute pan with the harissa and broccolini.  If your saute pan isn't big enough, you can place everything into the pasta pot. 

Add the pasta water, the parsley and mint and mix thoroughly. Then slowly begin to add the cheese in. Mix until fully incorporated.

The pasta is going to be a little spicy, a little fresh and a little cheesy.

Serve with cheese on top.