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Orecchiette w/ Broccoli Rabe & Sausage

A one-pan pasta where blanched broccoli rabe, garlic and red pepper flakes are tossed with browned plant-based Italian sausage and orecchiette, finished with grated parmesan. Hearty and a little bitter-edged, the kind of dinner that comes together while the pasta water boils.

main · Italian · vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 1 pound broccoli rabe, stems trimmed
  • 1 pound orecchiette pasta
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 link plant-based sweet Italian sausage links, cut on bias into 1/2-inch slices; if your brand is mild, add 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed, to the pan with the garlic
  • 4 clove garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Method

  1. Bring large pot of salted water to boil.
  2. Fill large bowl w/ ice water.
  3. Add broccoli rabe to boiling water & cook for 4 minutes or until the spears are tender.
  4. Use tongs to transfer the broccoli into bowl of ice water - remove & chop into 1" chunks. Set aside.
  5. Return pot of water to boil, add orecchietti & stir. Cook 5-8 minutes until al dente. Drain reserving a 1/2 cup of pasta water.
  6. Cook plant-based sausage slices over med heat w/ oil - stir occasionally till browned on both cut sides, about 4-5 minutes. They're already cooked through, so you're only after colour - don't let them dry out. Set aside. Leave all the oil in the pan.
  7. Add garlic, red pepper to pan, stir for 30 sec. Add broccoli rabe, season w/ s/pep.
  8. Add orecchiette & sausage back to pan, mix, adding splashes of the reserved pasta water until it coats. Add parm and toss off the heat. (Plant-based sausage renders little fat, so the pasta water and the full 1/4 cup oil are what make the sauce - don't skip them.)

Notes

Swapped the pork links for plant-based Italian sausage - it browns faster and renders almost no fat, so lean on the reserved pasta water and the olive oil to bring the dish together; also check that your parmesan is a vegetarian (microbial rennet) one, as true Parmigiano-Reggiano is made with animal rennet.