Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
A wonderful, flavorful pasta dish from New York's famous Italian restaurant Rao's. Orecchiette pasta with hot and sweet Italian sausages, garlic, broccoli rabe and Pecorino cheese. Easy to throw together and excellent for a special occasion.
Nutrition Facts
Ingredients
Instructions
To blanch the broccoli rabe, fill a large bowl with ice water and set it aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut away a couple of inches of the thicker tough stems of the broccoli rabe, leaving the tender stems, buds and leaves. Cut or pull the leaves off the stems and tear the leaves into large pieces. Boil broccoli rabe for 2-3 minutes until it's bright green and the stems are crisp-tender. IMPORTANT: Reserve one cup of the cooking water. Drain broccoli rabe in a colander and quickly plunge it into the ice water to stop the cooking process. When cool, drain and set aside.
To make the pan sauce, heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and sausages and sauté, stirring often, until the sausages are cooked through and browned in spots.
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Continue Reading at Panningtheglobe →Chef's Notes
How to Prepare This Ahead of time:
Broccoli Rabe can be blanched up to a day ahead of time. Drain, cool and store, covered, in the fridge. Remember to reserve a cup of the blanching water and keep it covered in the fridge, as well.
The pan sauce can be prepared up to an hour ahead (or several hours head, if refrigerated). For best results, cook the pasta at the last minute. Heat the sauce gently while the pasta is cooking. Finish the recipe per the instructions in Step 5.
What to do if you forget to save the broccoli rabe water?
I'm including this tip because, as many times as I've made this recipe, there are still occasions that I forget to save that broccoli rabe water. If this happens to you, don't worry! You can use a cup of the pasta cooking water and the dish will still be absolutely delicious.
How to Prepare This Ahead of time:
Broccoli Rabe can be blanched up to a day ahead of time. Drain, cool and store, covered, in the fridge. Remember to reserve a cup of the blanching water and keep it covered in the fridge, as well.
The pan sauce can be prepared up to an hour ahead (or several hours head, if refrigerated). For best results, cook the pasta at the last minute. Heat the sauce gently while the pasta is cooking. Finish the recipe per the instructions in Step 5.
What to do if you forget to save the broccoli rabe water?
I'm including this tip because, as many times as I've made this recipe, there are still occasions that I forget to save that broccoli rabe water. If this happens to you, don't worry! You can use a cup of the pasta cooking water and the dish will still be absolutely delicious.
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Reviews from the Original Source
Excellent recipe! Loved it. I added one half diced yellow pepper and some small sliced cherry tomatoes as well for an extra pop of color and extra nutrition. I sought out and bought the RAO cookbook as well!
Always perfect. The sauce freezes well and is a good treat after work when you don’t have time to cook.
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