Rarely appreciated and often discarded, broccoli stems are more valuable than we give them credit for. They just need the right place to show off. In our recipe for Rigatoni with Roman Broccoli Sauce, we take a tip from the Romans—who use broccoli leaves to make a delightful pasta sauce—but incorporate the stems, as well.

This produces an incredibly silky sauce and, as a bonus, reduces waste in your kitchen. The hero of this recipe is the blender, which makes the creamy, emulsified sauce easy to whip up.

Why peel the broccoli stem?

The issue a lot of folks have with the stem is that it’s too tough. But most, if any, of that woody fiber is found only on the very outside of the stalk. Simply peel the broccoli stems, revealing the paler, more tender interior.

To make peeling easier, remove the florets first and set them aside. They cook more quickly than the stalks, so they’ll be dealt with later. Stand the trimmed stalk upright on one end and, using a knife, slice down the length of the stalk to remove the outer skin. You may lose a few branches, but that’s okay. Do keep any leaves for the sauce, as they’ll lend a bit of color. Alternatively, you can use a vegetable peeler, though Chris prefers the knife.

Is boiling broccoli better than steaming it?

Boiling keeps this recipe streamlined. There are four key ingredients in this dish, and they all need to be cooked for distinctly different times. The stems require the longest cooking time, the spinach wilts in a snap, the broccoli florets and pasta each have their own requirements. Keeping a pot of water boiling allows you to add ingredients in stages and pull them out the moment they’re done. Plus, fishing those ingredients out with a slotted spoon or spider is quick and easy, and doesn’t require topping-up, like water in a steamer. Some of the cooking water is later used to make the sauce, too.

When it comes to losing nutrients to the boiling water, Chris assured us that the cooking method isn’t the biggest culprit when it comes to vitamin loss. “The bulk of vitamin content loss has to do with when something was picked, how long it's been in storage, how it was stored, and the steaming versus boiling doesn’t matter that much.”

How to make Roman broccoli sauce

Once the broccoli stems are tender, drop in the spinach leaves to wilt them, which should take about 20 seconds, then use a slotted spoon to scoop them directly into the blender. At this point, you can reserve about a 1/2 cup of the boiling water and set it aside. While the water is still boiling, drop in the broccoli florets. Cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.

During this time, you can let the blender take care of the hard work. Add the garlic, capers, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, and butter to the blender. Though not completely necessary if you have a powerful blender, Chris recommends using softened butter to help the sauce come together quickly. Purée the mixture until smooth and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Why we used rigatoni in this recipe

We chose rigatoni for a couple of reasons. Since the broccoli florets get tossed into the dish, it’s helpful to have a pasta shape that’s roughly the same size, with a similar level of thickness. Visually, it’s appealing, and practically speaking, you can spear them with a fork the same way, ensuring you get a bit of broccoli and pasta in each bite.

A shape like rigatoni also stands up well to the velvety broccoli sauce. It’s a smooth sauce, thanks to the blender, and could easily run off of a slick strand of spaghetti. Rigatoni rigate (“rigate” distinguishes pasta with ridges), radiatori, cavatappi, or even farfalle, all have hollow areas, pockets and grooves that help to capture this flavorful sauce.

Cook your preferred pasta until it’s al dente, which means “to the tooth” in Italian. Not underdone—there shouldn’t be a chalky or crispy raw-ness in the center—and certainly not mushy. Keeping in mind that your pasta will see some heat again as you stir it with the sauce in the final step, you want the pasta to leave the water just cooked through, pliant but firmly holding its shape.

Pasta and sauce is a marriage

To finish off the pasta dish, marry the pasta with the broccoli sauce on the stove. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot, along with some cooking liquid, the broccoli florets, the puréed broccoli mixture, some more lemon zest and a dose of pecorino Romano. Stir it over medium heat. After a couple minutes the starches in the pasta water will help emulsify the sauce, the sauce will thicken and the flavors will be fully incorporated.

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Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Allie Chantorn Reinmann is a Digital Staff Writer for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. She’s a Thai-American chef who earned her diploma for Pastry and Baking Arts at The Institute of Culinary Education and worked professionally for over a decade honing her craft in New York City at places like Balthazar, Bien Cuit, The Chocolate Room, Billy’s Bakery and Whole Foods. Allie took her know-how from the kitchen to the internet, writing about food full-time at Lifehacker for three years and starting her own YouTube channel, ThaiNYbites. You can find her whipping up baked goods for cafés around Brooklyn, building wedding cakes and trying her hand (feet?) at marathon running. She’s working on her debut cookbook and lives in Brooklyn, NY.