Romanesco…rosemary…rigatoni.  Recipe from Rachel Ray.  The letter R was good to me (Roxana) this week.  Rachel Ray’s recipes are not usually a part of my life because they are often:

1-not good

2-by Rachel Ray (who is the definition of irritating)

She get’s a pass with this one though because of how lovely this little pasta dish turned out.

Romanesco is a broccoli/cauliflower mutant.  It looks cool and, turns out, is delicious.  This dish really allows the romanesco to soften up so it’s nice and tender alongside rigatoni.

You’ll need:

0.75 pound rigatoni pasta (I used whole grain)

2 tablespoons butter

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

0.5 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock

1 head of romanesco broccoli, cut into florets (I found romanesco at the farmers market but you could use broccoli if you can’t find any)

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped

Red pepper flakes, to taste

2/3 cups pecorino romano plus more for garnish/to taste

Salt/Pep

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente (reserving 0.5 cup of the pasta water).  Set aside.

Heat the butter in a dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook for six minutes.  Add the wine and stir for one minute.  Add the chicken stock, romanesco, lemon zest, red pepper and salt/pepper.  Stir, cover and let cook for ten minutes.

Remove lid and remove from heat.  Add the pasta, cooking liquid and cheese.  Stir.  Serve with additional cheese.