Orecchiette With Sweet Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Pesto

Ingredients

• Salt
• ½ pound broccoli rabe, stems trimmed off and discarded or saved for another use
• 3 cloves roasted garlic, peeled
• 10 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 cup finely chopped fennel bulb
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 500 grams (about 1 1/4 pounds) dried orecchiette, or fresh (made with 4 cups of flour)

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

    727 calories; 34 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 71 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 31 grams protein; 34 milligrams cholesterol; 766 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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6 servings

Preparation

1. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a pot and add 1 tablespoon salt. Add broccoli rabe and cook about 5 minutes, until tender. Drain and place in a large bowl of ice water. Drain and squeeze dry. Turn on a food processor and drop garlic in through the feed tube. Stop machine, scrape down sides and add broccoli rabe. Pulse until finely chopped. Stop machine. Add 6 tablespoons oil. Pulse until pesto comes together but is not creamy or thoroughly emulsified. Transfer to a bowl and fold in ¼ cup cheese.
2. Heat remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a large sauté pan on low. Add fennel and onion, and cook until soft but not brown. Add sausage and cook, mashing it to a fine crumble, until it is no longer pink. Add chicken stock and cook until the stock has mostly evaporated and just glazes the sausage. Transfer sausage mixture to a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Return sausage to the pan. Fold in broccoli rabe pesto. Set aside.
3. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add orecchiette and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Reheat sausage mixture and add about ½ cup of the pasta water. Drain pasta and add to pan with the sausage mixture. Toss ingredients together until pasta is evenly coated. Fold in remaining ½ cup cheese, check seasoning and serve.

45 minutes