PrintDinner Tonight: Broccoli Rabe and Sausage Pasta
Sure, it’s a classic. So, why have I been getting it so wrong? Because of my misadventures with the dish, the fiancée had sworn off broccoli rabe as disgusting, and I was left to try to get my fill any way I could.
That usually meant in its cold incarnation at buffet lines. It wasn’t working out. That’s when I saw it in a wicker basket at the farmers' market. It was going quickly. An employee would grab a big armful, plop it on the basket, and immediately someone would buy it. I watched as two different people walked off with huge bags of the stuff. It was time.
My quest was how to do this classic correctly. I’d been led wrong before, so I searched through my massive stacks to find one that seemed perfect. It had to be simple—dead simple—with nothing much besides the sausage and broccoli rabe. Surprisingly, the version that looked the best was the Joy of Cooking version. I used a different pasta and decided to leave out the oil—my sausage was fatty enough. But for those without fear, a couple tablespoons of olive oil would make this a heartier dish. We didn’t need it.
The fiancée finished her plate.
Broccoli Rabe Pasta with Sausage
- serves 4 -
Ingredients
1 pound of Italian sausage
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bunch of broccoli rabe, washed, dried, coarsely chopped
1 pound of pasta (orecchiette is traditional, but I used spaghetti)
Salt and pepper
Cheese to grate
Procedure
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Remove the casings from the sausage, and cut into small pieces. Cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat, until browned.
3. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for a minute, and then add the broccoli rabe. Stir and then cover the skillet.
4. Cook the pasta according to the box directions. When al dente, drain the pasta, and then add it to the skillet. Cook for another minute, stirring constantly. Then plate, grate the cheese, and enjoy!
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7 Comments:
What had you been doing wrong before? I'm always as curious about people's cooking disasters as I am about the successes ...
Charlotte at 4:20PM on 10/12/07
This is one of my favorite dishes. Perfect now that the weather is cooling down.
ceforrester at 5:19PM on 10/12/07
I absolutely adore broccoli rabe, but I've become aware over the years that--like your wife--not everyone feels the same way. I was at a food and health conference at CIA Greystone last weekend and they passed around a dish just like this during one of the sessions. I was psyched, but I heard several people whispering "yuck!" behind me.
So I'll share here what I shared with them . . . I've found that substituting a mixture of broccoli florettes and Tuscan kale (milder than the leaves of broccoli rabe) makes a good variation for those not too hip on bitter greens. I have a recipe here for Orriechette with Broccoli, Kale and Sausage if you want to give it a try.
The version you have here, though, is my family's go-to comfort food dish. Cheers!
Lia
swirlingnotions at 5:51PM on 10/12/07
Charlotte: I think my biggest problem is the amount of grease that can get into the dish. So I intentionally scaled back the oil, and was very happy with the result. If the proportion of broccoli rabe to sausage gets off, the greens can get very bitter. I like that bitter tang, but I can see why some don't.
Swirlingnotions: That's a fascinating substituion. It's a hard vegetable to get used to, I think.
Pauper Nick at 8:00PM on 10/14/07
I blanch the broccoli rabe for a minute (in the water i'm going to use for the pasta), shock it in an ice bath and drain it. it gets rid of some of the bitterness, and gives a tiny bit of flavor to the pasta water.
Soup_Dumpling at 12:52PM on 10/15/07
I've had great success adding chicken stock--about 2 cups--after the Italian sausage is done browning. Then the rabe until tender, then the cooked pasta. It softens the dish without adding oil.
Blake Royer at 2:48PM on 10/15/07
Love this dish - been eating it nearly my whole life. Sometimes we'd sub white beans for the sausage (if we were in a veggie mood). Glad you're enjoying it more!
chiff0nade at 2:55PM on 10/17/07