Orecchiette with mushrooms and broccoli

Saturday night is usually a night for LFD, leftovers for dinner. However, John opined that the broth from our Mediterranean seafood stew was too fennel-y to be transformed into Vietnamese sweet and sour soup as planned. So we needed to come up with an easy dinner that we could make out of existing ingredients in our pantry and refrigerator. Orecchiette with mushrooms and broccoli definitely filled the bill!

While the water for the pasta heated,  John and I teamed up to get the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and broccoli cut up for the sauce. While the pasta cooked for 10 minutes, I sautéed the mushrooms, onions, and garlic and then added the broccoli florets with about three minutes to go on the pasta. John drained the pasta and added it to my vegetables. I swirled the whole thing around in the pan and added a couple of teaspoons of olive oil and a cup of pasta water which made a really yummy, rich, dark sauce. Some nights you just have to improvise!