White Bean Piccata Pasta With Broccoli

By Ali Slagle

Updated October 17, 2019

  • Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
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Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(1,140)
Comments
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The bright lemon-caper sauce for which chicken piccata is known plays equally well with other proteins, like swordfish, or creamy white beans, and forms a glossy, tangy sauce well suited to pasta. Throw broccoli — or any another quick-cooking vegetable, like asparagus, broccoli rabe or peas — into the pasta’s boiling water in the last few minutes, and you’ve effortlessly managed to squeeze a green into this vegetarian dinner.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • Kosher salt

  • 1 pound mezze rigatoni or casarecce

  • 2 cups small broccoli florets (from 1 head broccoli)

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 shallot, finely chopped

  • ½ cup dry white wine

  • 1 (15-ounce) can white beans, such as cannellini or great Northern, drained and rinsed

  • ¼ cup drained capers

  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving

  • Black pepper

  • ¼ cup finely chopped parsley

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

114 grams carbs; 46 milligrams cholesterol; 746 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 20 grams fat; 11 grams fiber; 779 milligrams sodium; 24 grams protein; 6 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Three minutes before the pasta is done, add the broccoli (the broccoli should be crisp-tender when the pasta is al dente). Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and broccoli.

  2. Step 2

    While the pasta cooks, make the sauce: In a large (12-inch) skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and a pinch of salt and stir until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the white wine and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Add ¼ cup of the pasta water, the beans, capers and a pinch of salt, and simmer until saucy and slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Reduce the heat to medium, add the lemon juice, cooked pasta and broccoli, and stir until the pasta is coated in the sauce, adding pasta water as needed to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowls, top with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,140 user ratings
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Comments

Christa

This was super-easy to make. I used regular rigatoni and home-cooked chickpeas, because that was what I had, though I can see why mezze rigatoni is called for, because regular rigatoni rather overflowed the pan. I always break up my capers, even though they're small, by chopping them coarsely first, a trick I learned from David Tanis I look forward to trying this with broccoli rabe. Very tasty! I used fresh broccoli from the farmstand.

Jon-Michael

I browned 3/4 lb of mild Italian sausage bits and added that to the sauce -- a decadent and slightly more filling twist!

Kathy

Delicious and quick, but I reduced the amount of pasta to 3/4 lb and it gave a better ratio of pasta/broccoli/beans.

Maria

This was surprisingly delicious. Following other comments, I used half the amount of pasta and double the amount of beans. I also used double the amount of broccoli. Very light and summery meal. I made more sauce but will at least double it next time adding extra capers. Whole capers provide a nice zing.

Teri

Double the sauce AND halve the pasta, so you can let the sauce thicken and still have enough. I used olive oil instead of butter and a coarsely chopped bunch of broccoli rabe, which was delicious. I will increase the capers next time. Tried adding some shredded chicken I had in the fridge; that didn’t do anything for the dish.

KatyMac

Delicious! I used dry vermouth (no wine in the house) and a red onion instead of the shallots. It was delicious.

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