Sausage and Broccoli Rabe with Orecchiette

Last weekend while I was home, Mom and I wanted to make a special dinner for Dadd-y-o. Does anyone else call their Dad that? I have no idea how or when that started (much like Big Kahuna), but I find myself using it a lot these days.

We always know Dad will love Italian (and by now you all know too) so we started perusing some of the many Italian cookbooks we have. My mom's addicted to buying cookbooks. I think it would take me a thousand years to make one recipe per day from each page of each cookbook in our house. Good for variety, not so good for the indecisive cook.

I kind of had it in my mind what we were going to make and when I found this recipe I knew we were in for a treat.

Frank Pellegrino and his family get this one exactly right. Don't be scared by the broccoli rabe water like we did. The "sauce" at the end comes out excellent. Really, it's not even a sauce, it's just a little bit of olive oil and juices that mesh it together.


Taken from "Rao's Cookbook" by Frank Pellegrino

1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 lb Italian sausage, a combo of hot and sweet according to your taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup broccoli rabe water
1 lb orecchiette
1 lb broccoli rabe, cooked
freshly grated pecorino romano cheese

1. heat oil and stir in garlic in large saute pan over medium heat. add sausages and saute meat until meat is cooked and loses its raw look. salt and pepper to taste, and saute one minute. add the rabe water.

2. raise heat and cook until sauce is hot.

3. meanwhile, cook orecchiette in rapidly boiling salted water until al dente.

4. drain orrechiette. return pasta to its pot. place over medium-high heat and stir in 3/4 cup of broccoli rabe and sausage sauce. using a wooden spoon, toss together for 1 minute. remove from heat and pour into a large serving platter or bowl. spoon remaining sauce over the top. sprinkle with Pecorino Romano cheese.

(to cook the rabe: put it in a deep saucepan filled with water. turn heat to medium, and as soon as bubbles start forming remove from heat. drain and transfer rabe to a bowl filled with cold water to stop it from cooking anymore. don't forget to save some of the original water from saucepan as you'll be needing to add a cup of it to the sausage skillet. once chilled you can remove from water and let sit in dry bowl.)