How to Make Orecchiette Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Italian sausage

🥗Healthier: chicken sausage

💰Cheaper: ground turkey

Chicken sausage is lower in fat, while ground turkey is more affordable.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grana padano

Nutritional yeast is dairy-free and adds a cheesy flavor, while grana padano is a less expensive cheese.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat.

Decase the pork sausage by running a knife along the inside of the casing.

Add one clove of garlic to the pan with some olive oil.

Break apart the sausage and add it to the pan.

Add red pepper flakes to taste and generous amounts of sage.

Cook the sausage until it gets some color, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the garlic to the pan, being careful not to burn it.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it until it tastes like the ocean.

Add the orecchiette pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions.

With one minute left on the pasta, add the broccoli to the pot with the pasta.

Once cooked, drain the pasta and broccoli, reserving some pasta water.

Add the drained pasta and broccoli to the frying pan with the sausage.

Scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan to deglaze it.

Add beer to the pan to help deglaze, if white wine is not available.

Add a little bit of breadcrumbs to the mixture.

Toss everything together and serve.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

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