Orecchiette with Italian Sausage & Broccoli Rabe

I cannot remember where I ate this pasta dish. It was definitely during lunch time when I worked in Mid-town, NYC. Darn... it has been weeks since I decided to try this pasta at home... but still cannot remember which restaurant I had this at.

Anyway,
The combination of slightly bitter broccoli rabe & salty anise Italian sausage, and orecchiette, a pasta from Puglia... gives me very comforting and warm feeling. Although the dish originated from sunny South Italy, I feel the dish goes well with chilly winter time. I guess it is because the sausage (which is fatty) and dark firm green vegetables remind me chilly weather.


Orecchiette with Italian Sausage & Broccoli Rabe
(Yield: 2 servings / Cooking time: 15 minutes)


Ingredients:
+ 140g orecchiette (70g per serving)
+ 2 spicy Italian chicken sausages*
+ 1 small bunch broccoli rabe
+ 2 garlic cloves
+ olive oil
+ salt and pepper
+ (optional) pecorino romano, grated
+ (optional) freshly squeezed lemon juice

* If you don't like spicy sausage, you can use sweet Italian sausage. Italian pork sausage is okay as well. When you see "Italian" in your sausage name, usually the meat mixture includes fennel seed (or any other anise-flavored spice), black pepper and parsley leaves.




Procedures:
1. In a big pot, start boiling water to cook pasta.

2. First, clean and chop broccoli rabe in small pieces, peel & slice garlic cloves, and remove casings from the sausages.


3. In a pan, drizzle enough olive oil*, and sauté Italian sausage over medium heat. Cut the sausage into chunks with a wooden spoon. Cook until the sausage is little bit browned. Remove the cooked sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon.

* If you use pork sausage, probably you will need less oil because the pork sausage has more fat.



4. Cook garlic slices with the remaining oil/fat. It will not take much time. Be careful not to burn the garlic... because garlic can be bitter when it is burned.


5. Add cleaned and chopped broccoli rabe and cook until it is little bit wilted but still has texture. You can add about 1-2 Tbsp water to the hot pan and cover with a lid to cook the broccoli rage quickly with steam. Turn off the heat.

raw broccoli rabe


cooked broccoli rabe - you can see changes in color and texture


6. By now, the water for pasta should be boiling. Add enough salt to the rapidly boiling water and add orecchiette.

7. When the pasta is almost cooked, return cooked sausage to the pan where garlic slices and broccoli rabes are. Turn on the heat.


8. Add slightly under cooked orecchiette to the sausage/broccoli rabe directly with a slotted spoon or spider, and mix well and cook until the past is cooked al dente. Taste and season with salt & pepper, and add splash of lemon juice if needed.


9. Serve the dish immediately. Sprinkle some grated pecorino romano cheese on top.


Enjoy~