Thursday, January 13, 2011

Stir Fried Broccoli and Walnut Sauce

So this was my very FIRST recipe I made as a "house owner"....and my very FIRST cooking appliance - the WOK!  This was from a cooking class I took with Perrine - and our mothers pretty much got yelled at from the teacher because we didn't know how to "mince" garlic and we had no idea what a broccoli floret was .....Oh, how far we've come :)

This took us 30 minutes from prep - cook - eat - dishes....so you can't go wrong!!  It is super yummy - and you can control how spicy you want it (I think I added 1/2 the  thing of pepper flakes this time!)  Ross is against eating meals without meat - so I think he told me about 5 times how good this would have been with steak :)  I think he is right - but it would just add to the cooking time a little....or I was thinking mushrooms would be a good add in too.  ENJOY!!
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1lb pasta (any shape)
2 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (don't skimp on this - they add a LOT to the taste)
2 cloves garlic - minced
salt / pepper
1 head broccoli florets - cut into bite size pieces
Pinch of red pepper flakes (in my case about 4 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons walnut oil (don't necessarily need to have...)
2 tablespoon freshly grated Romano cheese

Boil pasta until tender.  While this cooks - heat 1/2 olive oil in wok over high heat.  Add walnuts and stir fry until lightly toasted (45 sec) - remove with a slotted spoon and put in a serving bowl.  Toss with 1/2 the garlic, salt, and pepper.

Heat remaining olive oil in wok, add broccoli and red pepper flakes - stir fry until broccoli turns bright green.  Add remaining garlic, more salt and pepper, and 1/3 cup water.  Cover and steam until the broccoli is tender (I used a cookie sheet to cover the wok), about 3 min, uncover and continue cooking until remaining water has evaporated.

Drain pasta - toss into bowl with walnuts - and add broccoli mixture, walnut oil, and cheese.

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