(Serves 2)

Orecchiette or other small chunky pasta for two, such as farfalle or fusilli
200g broccoli, broken into the smallest florets and the stalk discarded
Extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 small red pepper, seeded, and not too hot, or 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
Gozo sea salt

Put the orecchiette in boiling water, and cook for about eight to 10 minutes. Drop in the broccoli, and cook for a further four to five minutes. Drain, toss in a little oil and transfer to a very hot bowl.

While the pasta is cooking, crush the garlic, chilli and salt in a mortar, and work in about 50ml extra virgin olive oil. Stir this into the pasta, and serve with flakes of Pecorino on top. This last pasta recipe makes a very good weekend supper dish for friends and family. Multiply the quantities as required. Perhaps serve some salami and prosciutto first with some grilled vegetable antipasto, follow the pasta with grilled fish, some salad and cheese to follow, and finish with the mango fool for a very easy feast, or with the Key lime pie for something a little more elaborate, as I notice that limes are increasingly available. On the other hand, you may wish to remain in Italian mode, when a tiramisù would be perfect.