Susan's Pasta Primavera | Louisiana Kitchen & Culture

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 6 - 8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground meat, 85% lean
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb mix, or to taste
• 1 cup black olives, pitted and quartered lengthwise
• 1/4 cup colossal green olives stuffed with sundried tomatoes
• 1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 15-ounce can artichoke hearts in water, drained and quartered
• up to 1 cup chicken broth, in all
• salt and pepper to taste
• handful fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1 pound broccoli florets
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• crushed red pepper flakes