Orechiette is one of my all time favorite pastas. It means ‘little ears’ because that’s what it looks like. Shaped like tiny bowls, Orechiette hold sauce brilliantly. The recipe for the sauce is hardly new. Variations can be found all over the place. What makes this different is that every step of the way, I added flavor. In lieu of plain canned plum tomatoes, I went for diced tomatoes with green chiles. In went two kinds of Italian sausage, both hot and sweet. Lot of garlic, some dry red wine and concentrated tomato paste all added to the sense of eating something substantial even without all that pasta. You can make this dish in two big pots. In one you boil the pasta and the brocollini and in the other you cook the sausage, tomatoes and garlic to which you add the broccolini, the cooked pasta and some Parmigiano cheese. I made this for two but the recipe is for 4. And here it is:
 |
| Two Sausages per serving, one Sweet and one Hot, |
4 Sweet Italian Sausages
Leave any fat from the sausages in the pot. Return the sliced sausage to the pot and, on top of the stove, brown the sausage slices stirring frequently until they are brown. Add the sliced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices, the dry red wine, the tomato paste, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of freshly-ground black pepper. Let the mixture simmer over low heat while you make the pasta.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and add 1 tbsp. of salt. When the water is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook for 9 minutes. While the pasta cooks, trim the broccolini to below the leaves, discarding the tough stems. Once the pasta has cooked for the 9 minutes, add the broccolini for 2-3 minutes making sure it stays crisp tender. Reserve a half cup of the pasta/broccolini water. Drain the pasta and broccolini in a large colander. Add the pasta and broccolini to the spicy tomato and sausage sauce. Stir in the cheese and 1 tsp. of salt. If the pasta sauce seems dry, add some of the pasta water. Taste for seasoning and serve at once, passing extra cheese on the side.
This is making me hungry! I love the combination of sausage and broccolini in tomato sauce… I've also used chorizo and/or broccoli rabe as alternative options – it always turns out great! 🙂
Thank you! There are so many variations of this dish and all of them are really worth cooking. My partner is not fond of Broccoli Rabe so the Brocollini are in answer to that particular taste. I must try the chorizo. That would really be over the top! MM