This sausage and broccoli rabe pasta has been on my radar since spring break of this year. On one of my many trips to Barnes and Noble, I sat down with a stack of cookbooks and this one came from Christian Petroni’s Parm to Table. So much of this cookbook is chock full of heart and delicious recipes just like this. Also, check out his instagram here: christianpetroni. This is such a delicious and summery pasta dish and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Pasta
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups extra-virgin olive oil
- 16 oz hot ground Italian sausage
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 bunches broccoli rabe, stems smashed, then roughly chopped
- 1 pound cavatelli
- 2 cups reserved pasta water
- 1 cup pinot grigio
- 2 cups grated Parmesan
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick)
- salted butter
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Prepare
- First, in a huge sauté pan, add 2 cups olive oil. Add both sausages and cook, breaking up the meat to get color all over, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, chile flakes, and anchovies and cook until just toasted.
- Next, add the broccoli rabe, then cook, stirring, for a few minutes.
- Then bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil and drop the cavatelli in. Stunt the cooking of the sauce by adding about 1 cup pasta water to the pan. With a wooden spoon, stir up all the fond stuck to the bottom of the pan. Pull out the cavatelli just shy of al dente and finish cooking in the sauce, tossing, adding more pasta water if necessary if it gets too dry. Stir in the grated Parmesan, butter, and remaining ¼ cup olive oil. Enjoy!
