This recipe is adapted from my favorite Italian cooking magazine, La Cucina Italiana. The veggies with all the cheese and egg yolks make for an amazingly satisfying meal. Even the kids liked it! It’s kinda like a veggie pasta carbonara.
Ingredients:
Fine sea salt
1/4 c chicken stock
1 TBSP olive oil
1 medium onion, cut in half and very thinly sliced
4 c very small cauliflower florets
5 c very small broccoli florets
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch ground cloves
Coarsely cracked black pepper
1 lb pasta
3 c freshly grated pecorino or Grana Padano cheese
2 large egg yolks
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; add chicken stock and onion, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook cauliflower in the boiling water until tender, about 6 minutes. Using a mesh strainer or slotted spoon, transfer cauliflower to a bowl. Add broccoli to the boiling water and cook until just tender yet still firm to the bite, about 4 minutes; using slotted spoon, transfer broccoli to a second bowl. Reserve pot of water.
When onion is tender and golden, add cauliflower, cinnamon, cloves and generous pinch pepper; cook over medium heat, breaking apart cauliflower florets into small pieces, 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
Return pot of water to a boil. Addpasta and cook until pasta is about 2 minutes from al dente, then add broccoli to pot with pasta; continue to cook until pasta is al dente. Reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid, drain pasta and broccoli; transfer to a large serving bowl. Add cauliflower mixture, scraping all of the oil from pan into bowl, then add 1/4 cup pasta cooking liquid, cheese and egg yolks; quickly toss to combine well. Add more pasta cooking liquid to moisten, if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
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