Stranger Foods

Photograph of Orecchiette con cime di rapa e salsiccia.

ItalianOrecchiette con cime di rapa e salsiccia

Serves 4 | Prep 10 mins | Cook 30 mins

If there’s a vegetable I cannot and will not live without it has to be broccoli rabe. It was a yearly tradition to celebrate this green wonder at a sagra, or local festival, near Naples. When I was a kid, I would eagerly await this fair, as it meant there would be endless fried broccoli rabe available. Walking around town holding a panino with sausage and broccoli rabe was as delightful and exciting to me as going on the merry-go-rounds or roller coaster rides that flooded the sagra. Needless to say, when my Pugliese stepmother, Angela, introduced me to this dish, it quickly became one of my favorites.

Source: The Pasta Queen

Ingredients

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Imperial

x0.5

1 clove garlic, minced
1 fresh chili pepper, sliced into ⅛ inch-thick rounds (I like cayenne and Calabrian chilis)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 sweet Italian sausage links, casings removed
½ cup dry white wine
Sea salt
1 lb broccoli rabe, tough stems trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces, florets separated and stalks cut into 1 inch pieces, or 1 small head broccoli
1 lb fresh orecchiette, homemade or store-bought

Instructions

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Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat.
While the water is coming to a boil, in a large deep sauté pan, heat the garlic and chili pepper in the olive oil over medium-low heat until they start sizzling with little bubbles around them, . Add the sausage and cook, using the back of a spoon to break it into small pieces, just until it begins to brown, about . Add the wine and cook until the alcohol aroma dissipates and the liquid reduces by half, about .
Once the water has reached a rolling boil, season with a pinch of salt. Add the broccoli rabe and cook until tender, about . Then drain, keeping the water boiling for cooking the orecchiette. Add the broccoli rabe to the sausage mixture.
Season the boiling water with salt until it tastes like a seasoned soup. Drop the orecchiette into the water and cook until they float and are tender, about .
Transfer the pasta and 2 tablespoons of pasta cooking water to the sauté pan and stir to combine.

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