Vegan Casarecce Pasta made with Broccolini Rabe made with a rich vegan butter sauce and fresh herbs. Instead of using parmesan cheese, I opted for homemade panko breadcrumbs because its so much more fun to it! Best weeknight recipe ever!
“How do you pronounce casarecce?”
A person shopping in the grocery aisle asked me this question about seven years ago. That was the first time I heard of this pasta and it was love at first sight for me!
{that was falling in love with the pasta NOT the person asking me the question!}
“Ca-saa-reh-chi” is how you pronounce it. Its really fun to say it, so, try saying it a few times and see how much you will love saying it.
Casarecce translates into homemade. I think the word Casa is giveaway, right? Basically, its a loosely folded pasta which makes them very light and fluffly. I found that its better to put them in simple recipes rather than dousing them in heavy sauces like Alfredo sauce or marinara sauce.
This pasta is easily found in the pasta aisle and is often on sale in my local grocery store. But, you can also buy authentic Italian casarecee pasta from (affiliate link) Amazon!
What’s your favorite casarecce pasta recipe?
This is also the first time I have used broccolini rabe on my blog. Do you know the one surprising detail about it? I am sure you have figured it out.
Broccoli vs Broccolini vs Broccolini Rabe (Rapini)
Broccolini rabe is not at all related to any member of the broccoli family.
Shocking, isn’t it?
In fact, its part of the turnip and radish family. It has the same strong, spicy taste like a radish. Even the leaves are edible. I have a post coming soon that will show you how to use up these leaves
Broccolini, on the other hand, is a slightly sweeter vegetable. I like eating it raw just like regular broccoli. Broccolini is a relatively new vegetable. Broccoli and Chinese broccoli were sitting in a tree in 1993 and K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
And that’s how regular broccolini came into existence!
Broccolini is a hybrid of regular broccoli and Chinese broccoli which is why it is soooo delicious!
To keep from confusing all these broccolis, broccolini rabe is also referred to as rapini. I prefer rapini too, because if you remove the ‘ap’ from it, it becomes ‘rini’!
That’s totally a goofy way of remembering it’s name!
Which one of the three is your favorite?
How do you cook broccolini rabe?
Unlike the other veggies that share its name, rabe doesn’t taste good when eaten raw! Trust me, I tried. Learn from my experience and don’t eat them before cooking. It will take a few hours for the taste to leave your taste buds!
I have found that roasted broccolini rabe is the best way to go. Also, I didn’t roast them for more than 5 minutes because I wanted to keep its green color and its slightly strong flavor.
You can also add them to boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes. Drain them and blanch them immediately. The ice water during the blanching process will keep its color and flavor last longer
For this recipe, I suggest the quick roasting method because it adds just a hint of smokey flavor to the recipe. Plus, its faster than the blanching process.
What to make when your herbs, garlic and bread is going bad?
If you are following me on Instagram, you may have seen me complain about my food going bad! Look through my highlights and click on casarecce pasta story. I went through the process of using up my leftovers in this recipe.
My mint, basil and curly parsley was losing its luster! They were going bad and I felt bad because I spent so much money on them. Does that happen to you too?
Do what I did in this recipe. I blended them and added them to a vegan butter sauce and drizzled it on the casarecce pasta recipe. So much better than letting them go to waste!
You can also make combination butter like my vegan basil butter using leftover herbs or this navy beans salad for leftover curly parsley.
And if you are not following me on Instagram, you are seriously missing out on all the boring fun stuff in my life!
Can you substitute bread crumbs for Parmesan cheese?
I had also bought ciabatta rolls for my eggplant Parmesan sandwich, but, I didn’t get around to making it. As you may have figured out, it was going stale! I had seen somewhere that breadcrumbs are a better substitute for vegan Parmesan (sorry, I can’t find the source right now!)
I figured that it was a great time to test that theory! I toasted the bread quickly and then ground it into panko breadcrumbs.
Let me tell you that its the best substitute for Parmesan! It added a little crunch to recipe while adding some flavoring to the pasta!
Best decision ever!
Making some cheesy garlic bread is also the perfect side dish for this delicious pasta.
Can garlic go bad?
I think it takes garlic a very long time to go bad. I have used it when it even though green stuff is growing out of it or it’s more brown than white in color. The only time I consider that it has gone bad is when it is mushy!
Garlic doesn’t necessarily go bad, but, it does become stronger in taste. It will be spicier, slightly potent in taste as it gets older. My general rule of thumb is to use it up within a month of buying it. I, also, refrigerate it which might not be wise, but, that’s the way I like storing them.
Just like my Pizza sauce recipe and my roasted broccoli, this casarecce pasta has tons of garlic!
You are welcome. 🙂
Source of this amazing info: canitgobad.com
If you are looking for more peculiar pasta shape recipes, try my orecchiette pasta or my winter pasta salad.
Casarecce Pasta With Broccolini Rabe
Ingredients
- 2 cups casarecce uncooked
For roasting the broccolini rabe
- 1 cup broccolini rabe Save about 3 leaves but remove the rest
- 1½ tsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt optional
For the vegan butter sauce
- 7 leaves basil fresh is better
- ½ cup curly parsley loosely packed, fresh is better
- 8 leaves mint fresh is better
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper optional
- 1 tsp water
- 2 Tbsp vegan butter
- 1½ Tbsp garlic finely shredded
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1½ tsp lemon juice
For Garnish
- 3 Tbsp panko bread crumbs Homemade
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to instructions and make sure its tender
To roast the broccolini rabe
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Mix oil, salt and broccolini rabe in a bowl
- Spread it out on a baking tray and bake for no more than 5 minutes
To make the vegan butter sauce
- In a food processor, blend the fresh herbs, water, salt and pepper
- On the stove top, heat a heavy bottom pan for 30 seconds
- Add the butter and oil
- When it melts, add the garlic and roast for about 30 seconds on low heat
- Add the blended herbs
- Mix well and add the lemon juice
Assembling the pasta
- In a large bowl, add the pasta and the roasted broccolini rabe
- Pour the vegan butter sauce but keep very little of it in the pan
- Place the pan back on the stove and add the 3 rabe leaves you saved
- Cook for about 30 seconds on low. Don’t burn them
- Transfer the leaves to the pasta bowl and mix well
- Add the panko bread crumbs and red pepper flakes
Jennifer A Stewart says
I am always a sucker for a pasta dish and the casarecce is one of my favorites. Usually I serve it with a bolognese but this light garlic butter sauce is perfect for it!! It was so delicious I didn’t have any leftovers for lunch the next day!
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Jennifer
Michaela Kenkel says
Such an amazing pasta recipe!! I loved ll of the flavors!!
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Michaela
debi at Life Currents says
This looks nice and easy. I’ll be able to make it even on busy weeknights! And talk about delicious!
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Debi
Beth says
I’m confused about these instructions. It says to add the herbs to a food processor but then later it says to add leaves to the pasta bowl. Which leaves?
Healing Tomato says
Broccoli leaves.
Beth says
Broccolini leaves! Nevermind ????????I’m using regular broccoli just because I already had some that needed cooking so I confused myself! Instructions are perfect the way they are.
Healing Tomato says
You can omit the leaves and follow the rest of the recipe. The leaves are there to add a little extra nutrition and they do had some flavor to the pasta. Thanks for making it with regular broccoli. How did it turn out?
Sandra Shaffer says
Aren’t we luck that broccoli and Chinese broccoli married into delicious broccolini! Like you, I love it raw, but making a delicious sauce is so cleaver and tasty!
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Sandra
Deb says
This looks like it’s going to be my new favorite pasta! I love all of the flavors and textures you have in this lovely meal!
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Deb.
Kylee from Kylee Cooks says
I love the idea of using panko as a sub for parmesan. This casarecce looks incredible!!
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Kylee. I appreciate it very much.
Kathy says
This looks so good and I agree the panko adds so much to the recipe. I recently discovered vegan butter and now I am sold!
Healing Tomato says
Thank you so much, Kathy. 🙂
Julie Menghini says
I love everything about this delicious comfort food dish! I buy more broccoli rabe than broccoli and can’t wait to try this new recipe for it!
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Julie.
ashley says
I’ll be craving this one for a while! YUM.
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Ashley 🙂
Megan @ MegUnprocessed says
This is my kind of pasta dish right here! Love broccolini!
Healing Tomato says
Thank you, Megan. 🙂