Pasta With Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
Servings: 4
Calories: 381kcal
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked orecchiette pasta (or any other small pasta shape)
- 1 bunch broccoli rabe (tough stems removed)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound Italian-seasoned chicken sausage (chopped or sliced)
- ΒΌ teaspoon fennel seed
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
Instructions
- Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta according to package instructions. Omit the salt.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the sausage until lightly browned.
- Add the fennel seed and minced garlic to the skillet and stir for 1 minute, until the garlic becomes fragrant (you can use a mortar and pestle to grind the fennel seed if you want to -- I think it goes well with the sausage.) If you don't have any fennel seed, some black pepper or red pepper flakes would also be nice.
- About 4 minutes before the pasta is done cooking, add the broccoli rabe to the pasta pot and let it boil for 4 minutes until soft. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the broccoli rabe to the skillet, and mix it with the sausages.
- Drain the pasta, and stir the pasta together with the broccoli rabe and sausage mixture.
- You can sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top just before serving. I preferred not to, because the sausage is already pretty salty. Sausage + Parmesan cheese is TOO salty for my taste.