Sunday Supper {Orecchiete with Broccoli Rabe & Sausage}

It should come as no shock that this edition of Sunday Supper is brought to you by the Barefoot Contessa.  Yet again.  We dined on her Orecchiete with Broccoli Rabe & Sausage and, while the littles and I really enjoyed it, Honey was over the moon and has insisted that this become a regular!  It sounds super fancy, and maybe Ina’s is, but my version is pasta with sausage and some broccoli-like green (see the notes). :-)

 

Orecchiete with Broccoli Rabe & Sausage (serves 6)
Barefoot Contessa Foolproof

1/2 lb sweet Italian pork sausages
1/2 lb hot Italian pork sausages
1/3 cup olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 (14.5 oz) cans crushed tomatoes (San Marzano)
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup tomato paste
Salt and pepper
1lb dried orecchiette pasta
2 bunches broccoli rabe (about 2 lbs)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Prick sausages.  Roast 15-20 mins on a sheet pan, turning once, until just cooked through.  Slice 1/2 inch thick and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in dutch oven.  Add sausage slices and saute for 5 minutes until browned.  Add garlic and cook for 1 min.  Add tomatoes and their juices, wine, tomato paste, 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper.  Simmer on low.
3. Bring large pot half filled with water to boil and add 1 T. salt.  Add pasta and cook for 9 minutes.  While cooking, trim the broccoli and cut into 2” pieces.  When pasta has cooked 9 minutes, add broccoli and continue to cook for 3 minutes.  Drain.  Add to the sauce, stir in parm cheese and 1 tsp salt.  Serve with extra parm on the side.

Note:

• I used chicken sausage.  Shhh… don’t tell Honey because he wouldn’t love it.
• The sausage came in 1lb-ish packages so I doubled the sauce recipe.  Before adding the pasta in the last step, froze half for later.
• I had no idea what broccoli rabe was so used 2 bunches of something resembling but not quite broccoli from the grocery store. It was fantastic :-)
• I also had no idea what orecchiette was but it looked a whole lot like shells in Ina’s pic so I went with those.  Again, it was fantastic.

As far as dessert was concerned, well bestie E and her girls dropped off our Girl Scout Cookie order and my work was done.  YUM!!

Many of you have asked which ONE Ina cookbook is my favorite.  Hands down it is Barefoot Contessa Foolproof.  I have made 3/4 of the recipes in that book and loved all but one (meatloaf).

Happy Sunday, y’all!
xoxo