Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Pasta is a versatile dish that can be made with various sauces and ingredients. In this recipe, we will revisit an oldie but a goodie, a pasta dish that is a family favorite.

This pasta dish requires only five or six ingredients, excluding olive oil and salt. It’s made with sausage and broccoli rabe and is easy to make.

How To Make Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Preparing the Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

To make this pasta dish, you will need a shallow Dutch oven or a pot. Begin by adding a bit of olive oil to the pot and adding Italian sausage.

You can use spicy sausage, but in this recipe, we use sweet Italian sausage. Remove the casing from the sausage and use a wooden spoon to break it up while it cooks.

The sausage should be cooked until it develops some color and is almost fully cooked through.

This process will produce flavorful bits at the bottom of the pot that will add to the delicious sauce.

Next, add a bit more olive oil, garlic, and broccoli rabe. For the garlic, chop it, leave it whole, or mince it, depending on your preference.

You can also add some hot pepper flakes to make the dish spicy. Broccoli rabe has a sharp bitterness that some people don’t like.

If you prefer to reduce the sharpness, you can boil it ahead of time for about two minutes before dropping it into the pot.

However, if you like the bitterness, you can skip this step. Cover the pot and let it come to temperature and wilt on medium-low heat.

Cooking the Pasta

While the sausage and broccoli rabe are cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil.

Add pasta to the pot and let it cook. You can use any pasta shape you like, but in this recipe, we use little ears or a similar shape that will trap all the flavor in.

Salt the water after you add the pasta, and let it cook until it’s al dente.

Bringing It All Together

Once the pasta is cooked, use a ladle to transfer some of the starchy cooking water to the pot with the sausage and broccoli rabe. This water will help bind the sauce together.

Mix the pasta with the sausage and broccoli rabe, and let it cook on medium-low heat until the flavors meld together.

Summary

This pasta dish with sausage and broccoli rabe is easy to make and requires only a few ingredients. Begin by cooking the sausage until it develops color and is almost fully cooked.

Then, add garlic and broccoli rabe, and let it cook on medium-low heat until the flavors meld together.

While the sausage and broccoli rabe are cooking, boil pasta until it’s al dente, and mix it with the sausage and broccoli rabe in the pot.

Use a ladle to transfer some of the starchy cooking water to the pot to bind the sauce together. This pasta dish is delicious and will leave you wanting more.

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