Orechiette with Sausage and Rapini

 Orecchiette with Sausage and Rapini

Orecchiette pasta originates from the Province of Puglia in Southern Italy and gets its name "little ears" from its shape. It is made of durum wheat and water. This classic dish of rapini (broccoli rabe) and pork sausage will fast become one of your favourites. Simple and delicious! If you can't find orecchiette you can certainly substitute another shaped pasta that will hold the sausage bits such as penne rigate, fusilli or rigatoni. As always with Italian recipes the suggested spice measurements are just estimates. You can omit if you don't like a particular spice. I always recommend starting with the suggested amount and then adjusting as you go along. This dish does have a bit of a kick with the chili flakes but how much you use depends on how spicy you want it and how potent your chili is! 

I am sure you will love this! 

Andiamo!

Ingredients

*QB is "quanto basta"- you decide when it is enough and let your taste buds be your guide

• 1 pkg of orecchiette (500 g)
• 2 bunches of rapini, washed well, ends trimmed and chopped into 2-3 inch pieces. Leave the florets intact
• 4 Italian sausages (garlic or hot)
• 2 garlic cloves sliced thinly
• 1/4 tsp peperoncino/chili flakes (QB)
• salt, pepper to taste
• grated parmigiano reggiano (QB)

                                        

                                                

Directions

You will be blanching the rapini and cooking the sausage simultaneously so that everything comes together in the end. 

1. Add olive oil to a large deep skillet and heat.  Add garlic and be careful not to burn
2. Squeeze meat out of casings and add to pan. Break up into chunks with a wooden spoon. Add peperoncino.
3. Cook the meat until slightly crispy and cooked. 
4.  At the same time add enough water to large pasta pot ( I use a 8 litre stock pot) to cook both rapini and pasta in and bring water to a boil
5. Add a generous amount of salt to the water and drop in the rapini. Stir to make sure all of the rapini is covered with water. Bring back to a boil.
6. Prepare a large bowl with ice and water to make an ice bath for the rapini. 
7. After 5 minutes remove the rapini with a spider or slotted spoon and transfer to the ice bath. DO NOT DRAIN THE WATER FROM THE POT.
8. Strain rapini and leave in colander over the bowl
9. Return pot to stove and reboil water. Once the water has come to a steady boil add the pasta and cook according to package. 
10. Add the rapini, salt and pepper to the skillet and stir into meat mixture. Cover with lid and let simmer. Add pasta water if needed to keep it a little saucy. 
11. Transfer orecchiette to the skillet with a spider. Stir in and add about a ladle full of pasta water and 1/2 cup of grated parmigiano.  Keep stirring until everything is well blended (not too long because you don't want to overcook the pasta)
12. Serve with a sprinkle of parmigiano and a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil

A Mangia!

Fatto con amore,

Elena 💜