Instructions

1. In a pan large enough to hold all the pasta later, heat olive oil and butter over medium to low heat. Add shallots and let cook till golden and just beginning to brown. This will take about 20 minutes. Don’t skimp on the time, since this adds lots of flavor to the dish.
2. In the meantime, using a potato peeler, cut off the zest from two lemons. Place zest and toasted hazelnuts in food processor and pulse until like rough sand. It’s ok if there are bigger pieces here and there.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Check to see if your pasta pack has cooking time instructions. In Italy they usually do, and they are usually correct. The trick here is to put your pasta in to cook, and then add the broccoli florets 4 minutes before the pasta should be done. Orecchiette and cavatappi usually take pretty long to cook, about 12 minutes. So let the pasta cook for 8 minutes, then add the broccoli.
4. Drain the pasta and broccoli, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
5. Add the pasta to the pan with the shallots, heating over medium heat. Stir and add some of the cooking water, and about half of the nut/zest mix. Keep stirring, over low heat and add the lemon juice and the rest of the nut mixture. If you think it looks dry, you can add more of the pasta water. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
6. I don’t serve this pasta with grated cheese, but if someone really wants it, let the have it. Whatever makes people happy, right?
7. I also have some hot pepper on the table, in case anyone wants their’s a bit more spicy. For this dish I used Erotica, a pepper from Peperita which is on the mild side.