Serves 6 people.
At last . . . fall is here! Phoenicians relish the cool fall weather and fall is the perfect time for this classic Italian recipe. I use sausage that is freshly made by a wonderful local sausage shop named Schreiner's.
Ingredients
1 pound orecchiette pasta
1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage, casings removed and meat coarsely chopped
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed and meat coarsely chopped
1 pound fresh broccoli rabe
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon crushed fennel seed
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Toscano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
Directions
Put broccoli rabe in a large skillet with about 1/2 inch of water and bring to a boil. Cook the broccoli rabe until it just starts to soften. Drain the water and set the broccoli rabe aside to cool without a cover.
Using medium heat, heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil in a 12-inch skillet. Add the sausage and cook until heated throughout breaking apart the sausage until all pieces are even in size. Add garlic, fennel and red pepper flakes and cook until browned. Add the broccoli rabe and cook until heated throughout (about two minutes) Season with salt and white pepper.
Heat water in a large pot until it reaches a boil, add a few pinches of salt and a few drops of olive oil, along with the pasta. Cook until al dente, strain and pour into a pasta bowl, reserving about one cup of the pasta water to use as part of the sauce.
Toss the pasta, pasta water and sausage and broccoli rabe mixture together. Top with grated cheese and serve immediately.
