Orecchiette Pasta with Broccoli and Italian Sausage
January 7, 2012 by: BrianWe LOVE this dish and although inspired from Joe Bastianich from “MasterChef”, we make a few changes for our tastes:
Ingredients:
- Approx 1 pound fresh broccoli crowns, coarsely chopped
- 1 pound dry orecchiette
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 8 oz heavy cream
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 sweet Italian sausages, cut into 1/2-inch slices
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red-pepper
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions:
- Bring large stock pot of salted water to a boil, and fill another bowl with ice and water. Add the broccoli to the boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon and transfer into the water bath.
- Return pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook until al dente.
- Coat a skillet with the oil and heat on medium-high. Once oil is hot, add sausage and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until browned and cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, remove sausage and set aside.
- Add garlic and red pepper flakes and stir for 30 seconds. Add reserve broccoli and chicken stock to pan and season with salt and pepper, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in heavy cream and mix.
- Add sausage back to pan along with orecchiette, toss to evenly distribute adding more chicken stock if mixture appears too dry.
- Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.
AHEM! Shouldn’t this be filed under “guest chef”? This is MINE.