I was going to do the carbonara tonight but we opted instead for orecchiette con cime di rape, which is orecchiette pasta with broccoli or turnip tops with chilli and garlic. It's a traditional dish from Puglia in the far south of Italy. I think I may be cheating by using a few cherry tomatoes and a bit of chopped parsley. But what a dish. A bit of grated pecorino or parmesan is a nice finish. Here's how I do it. We LOVE it! You need about half a pound of chopped broccoli, preferably the tenderstem type, but anything will do. The stalky bits add a really nice bite.

For two people:

Get your biggest, heaviest frying pan. Three tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Two cloves of garlic, sliced (NEVER use a garlic crusher. Throw it away!). About half a teaspoon of dried chilli flakes (or hack up one or two red chillies, to taste).

Saute that lot very gently for about four minutes. The garlic must not turn brown.

Meanwhile, get your pasta going in your biggest pan in tons of salted water. If you can't get orecchiette, any short pasta will do. I sometimes use gigli or a not-too-big shell pasta. 250g.

Get back to your saute pan and add a handful of cherry toms cut in half, along with a big handful of chopped fresh parsley. Add a pinch of salt and a grinding of black pepper.

When the pasta has two minutes to go (trust me here), throw the broccoli into the pasta pan.

As soon as the pasta is al dente, drain the pasta/broccoli pan, reserving a bit of the water. Throw the whole lot into the pan containing the sauce. Stir everything together. Loosen with a bit of pasta water if necessary (I didn't need that tonight). Put into two bowls, sprinkle with your grated pecorino or parmesan, drizzle with your finest olive oil and devour. Ottimo!