Broccoli Aglio e Olio with Anchovy
Broccoli steamed and then browned in the same pan, dressed in anchovy-melted garlic oil and covered in toasted sourdough crumbs.
Why it works
Anchovies dissolve completely in warm oil, leaving savoury depth and no fishiness — they season the dish the way salt does, only rounder. Steaming the broccoli in a splash of pasta water and then letting the pan run dry means it cooks through and browns in one place, without a colander. The spaghetti goes into the boiling water first and finishes in that same garlic oil, where its starch and the cheese pull the whole thing into a sauce.
Method
- Boil a full kettle, pour it into a large pan, salt it well and bring it back to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook 9 minutes, or a minute under the packet time. Keep a mugful of the water back before you drain it.
- Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan over medium. Add the crumbs and almonds and toast 2 minutes, stirring, until sandy gold and crisp. Tip into a small bowl.
- Return the pan to low-medium heat with the remaining oil, the anchovies, garlic and chilli. Cook 2 minutes, mashing the anchovies against the base until they disappear into the oil and the garlic is pale straw.
- Add the broccoli, a pinch of salt and 100 ml (scant ½ cup) of water ladled straight from the pasta pan. Cover and cook 4 minutes over high heat, until a knife tip slides into the stalks with slight resistance. Uncover, add the beans and keep the heat high for 2 minutes, pressing the florets against the pan base. It is ready when the water has gone, the pan is glossy rather than wet, and the cut faces have caught brown.
- Drain the spaghetti and return it to its pan. Tip in the broccoli with every drop of the oil, add the cheese and a good splash of the reserved water, and toss hard for 1 minute, until the strands are coated and nothing is left loose in the bottom.
- Off the heat, add the lemon zest and juice, parsley and plenty of pepper. Scatter the crumbs over just before serving so they stay crisp.
For the toddler
The anchovies and pecorino salt the whole pan and there is no taking that back out. Before step 4, keep a handful of florets and a spoon of beans aside, steam them in a little water and dress them with plain oil and no chilli. Toss through some spaghetti, cut short, and crush the beans. Whole and chopped almonds are a choking risk under five, so grind them fine or leave them and the crumbs off.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Cauliflower or romanesco on the same timings. Capers instead of anchovies for a meat-free version.
Skip the crumbs and use toasted almonds alone — that is 3 minutes saved.
Bitter leaves — chicory or radicchio — in a sharp lemon dressing, and olives to pick at while the pasta boils.
Good cold the next day. Keep the crumbs separate or they go soft.