This is a great super easy weeknight dinner, or a weekend lunch. This recipe traditionally has orecchiette, which I love, but I had some corkscrew pasta so I used that. I also didn’t use the traditional Italian sausage for this. I decided to substitute some sun dried tomato chicken sausage instead.
To boost the flavor of this dish a bit, I thinly sliced a bunch of cloves of garlic and fried them in oil over a relatively low temp until they started to turn golden. I used both the garlic and some of the oil on the pasta. I also added some grated parmesan to the sauce, as well as more for serving to make a richer sauce. Finally, I added some frozen spinach as well to increase the amount of vegetables in this meal.
This dish took about 15 minutes to make so it is perfect for a night when you have no time. Subbing precooked chicken sausage saves time and you can complete the ingredient prep while the pasta cooks. I served this with some leftover naan from last night’s nihari, fried in a pan to get the edges crispy. If you are looking for a filling and fast but still homemade dinner, try this one.
Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
Ingredients
- 1 bunch broccoli rabe tough stems removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 12 oz pasta
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 package precooked sausage
- 8 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
- grated parm for sauce and serving
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to instructions. While cooking prepare the ingredients.
- Heat oil in a small frying pan and fry the garlic slices over medium low until the barely start to brown. This takes a few minutes. Don't use higher heat as they will burn and not taste good. Remove garlic from the oil but keep oil in the pan.
- Cut sausage into pieces and brown it the garlic oil. Stir in the broccoli rabe and let cook for a minute. Add the chicken broth, garlic, red pepper flakes and allow to simmer until the broccoli rabe is bright green.
- Add the drained pasta and add a little grated parm to the broth and gently mix.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Top with plenty of grated parm and serve.