Rapini and Italian Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
1 large bunch rapini, rinsed and stems trimmed
12 ounces small shaped pasta, such as orecchiette or cavatelli
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage
4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
½ cup dry white wine
freshly ground black pepper
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese, plus more for serving
Instructions
Roughly chop the rapini and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the rapini and boil until bright green, about 2 minutes. Leaving all the water in the pot, use a spider skimmer or sieve to lift the rapini out of the pot and place it in a colander to drain. Set aside.
Bring the same pot of water back to a boil (the water will be green from the rapini and that's OK). Add the pasta and cook until very al dente, about 1–2 minutes less than the package instructions. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta and set aside.
While the pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until deeply browned and crumbled, about 5–7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
Pour in the wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the wine cook until reduced by half, about 1 minute.
Stir in the blanched broccoli rabe along with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 3 minutes, until the rapini is very tender. If the pan looks dry, add a splash of pasta water.
Add the drained pasta to the skillet along with ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss everything together and cook over low heat for 1–2 minutes, allowing the sauce to come together. If needed, add more pasta water, a little at a time, to keep the sauce loose. Tip: Pasta absorbs liquid quickly, so ensure there’s enough sauce pooling at the edges of the pan. You may need the full cup of pasta water.
Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the Parmesan. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt or pepper, if needed. Divide the pasta among shallow bowls and top with extra Parmesan before serving.
From https://www.sandravalvassori.com/