Orecchiette with Pork Sausage and Broccoli
This one is just so damn easy and really really good...and I don't even like broccoli. It's just one of those magical combinations of flavors that all come together perfectly for whatever reason. Probably science or some shit?
Found some fresh orecchiette so I used that this time, but oddly, I found out I actually prefer the dry (boxed) orecchiette over the fresh which I wouldn't normally say. Still damn good though.
Lots of variations to this, but here's what I do and it gets rave reviews every damn time.
Basic ingredients: Orecchiette Pasta (one package), Italian Sausage (one pound), Broccoli (2 heads), Garlic (a few cloves), EVOO, Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, Parmigiano Reggiano
A few tablespoons of EVOO and start cooking that broccoli down until it starts to get a little wilty but keeps that bright green color. I add a little salt here too. Remember to turn your hood fan on because cooked broccoli fucking stinks.
Remove the broccoli and set it aside. In the same pan, brown up some Italian sausage. You can use just about anything here. My local Italian market has ground hot or mild (I went with mild because my kid is a wimp when it comes to spicy). You can also just remove the casing from some links and go that route.
Once that's good and brown, add back in the broccoli, a few cloves of thinly sliced (or minced) garlic and start mixing it up. I would normally also add red pepper flakes at this point, but again, the kid.
Add cooked pasta.
Mix it all together with a scoop of the pasta water and a few tablespoons (half a cup or so) of parmigiano reggiano.
Serve and finish with a little more parmigiano reggiano (and I did the red pepper flakes at this point but it should have been in earlier).