Easy Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

Italian cuisine is renowned for its simplicity and depth of flavour, often bringing together just a few quality ingredients to create a dish that’s delectable. One such dish is easy orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage. This recipe is inspired by the traditional flavours of Southern Italy and is a perfect example of how easy it can be to bring a taste of Italy into your kitchen.

I love how simple this recipe is and how it comes together in no time. I’m often looking for easy recipes that I can make in a pinch and so this is a great resource to have in my arsenal. In 30 minutes or less, I can have dinner on the table and also feed a small crowd!

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THE PASTA

The traditional recipe calls for orecchiette, a small pasta shape that means “little ears” in Italian. So cute! But don’t worry if you can’t find orecchiette at the grocery store or don’t have any on hand. Any short pasta, such as penne or rotini, will do.

THE SAUSAGE

You can use mild or spicy Italian sausages. Some recipes call for mild sausage and add chili flakes into the dish at the end for an extra kick or you can just omit it all together. It’s completely up to you. I have also used leek sausages and the combination of the sweet leek in the sausage and the slight bitterness of the broccoli rabe make a great combination.

Either way, you will want the sausage to be uncased. Sometimes you can find sausage at the grocery store without the casing. To remove the sausage from the casing simply make a slit along the side of the sausage, open the casing and the filling will just pop out.

You then want to brown and crisp the sausage meat in a large sauce pan with some olive oil. Place the sausage in the pan over medium high heat and brake up the pieces with your wooden spoon or spatula.

THE BROCCOLI RABE

You might also hear people call broccoli rabe, rapini. Interestingly, it’s not related to broccoli at all and is closer to the rapini. It’s a bitter green with thin stalks, lots of leaves and little buds at the end. You want to make sure the leaves and the buds look nice fresh and green. Stay away from any yellowing leaves and buds. The stems taste more bitter than the leaves and take a little longer to soften up when cooking. If you like the bitter taste, you can definitely throw them in with the pasta. If you prefer a mild taste just leave the bottom stems out!

How to make delicious orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage

1. Fill a large pot with salted water and bring it to a boil.
2. As the water is heating up, finely mince your garlic. Remove the sausages from their casing by making a slit down the side of the sausages and popping out the filling.
3. Heat a separate large sauce pan, that ideally has a lid, over medium high heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, the sausage and sauté it until it is brown and crispy. You don’t want to steam the sausage but make sure it gets nice and brown.
4. As the sausage is cooking, give the sausage rabe (or rapini) a rough chop. Decide if you will be including the thicker stems towards the bottom of the plant, as they are a little tougher and a little more bitter.
5. Once the sausage is adequately cooked and browned. Remove it and place it on separate plate. Add a couple more tablespoons of olive and the minced garlic. Sauté the garlic for a couple of minutes until it is fragrant. Then lower the heat and add the roughly chopped rapini and white wine. Cover and let the broccoli rabe cook down for a few minutes. You can give it a stir every few minutes to make sure everything is cooking down and that the pan is deglazing nicely.
6. At this point, the water should be ready for you to add the pasta in. Boil until al dente, the packaging should tell you how long that takes for that specific pasta. Add some salt your steamed rapini and add the cooked sausage back in and stir.
7. After the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a cup or two of pasta water. You will be adding this back in. Pasta water helps the sauce come together in the most silky way.
8. Add the drained pasta back into the pot, add the sausage broccoli rabe mixture, a big dollop of butter, the pasta water and some shredded Pecorino Romano. Give everything a nice big stir over low heat, until everything is combined.
9. You can now plate your orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage! You can sprinkle on some chili flakes for an extra kick or a little bit more cheese on top!

I hope you give this recipe a try! I’m sure it will become one of those easy recipes you can fall back on when you need something quick, easy and delicious for dinner. You might even have room for this yummy orange cake afterwards too!