Sunday, March 21, 2010

Italian Sausage and Broccoli, suggested by Amy

Ingredients

* 1 (16 ounce) package farfalle (bow tie) pasta
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
* 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 1 bunch broccoli rabe, trimmed
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the farfalle pasta, and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes; drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the Italian sausage until crumbly and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, and continue cooking until the sausage begins to brown, about 5 minutes more. Pour off the excess grease, then pour in the chicken broth and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil over high heat, then add the broccoli rabe, and cover. Cook until the broccoli rabe is tender, about 4 minutes.
3. When the broccoli rabe is done, stir in the butter, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper until the meat sauce has thickened. Toss with the farfalle and serve.

I premade everything on Sunday and I made a few changes:
I used regular broccoli and I added mushrooms to the veggies. I also used italian sausage links.

I sauteed the sausage, garlic, and mushrooms in a little bit of EVOO and then when it was done, I set aside. I put the pasta in to cook. Our pasta pot has a steamer basket so I steamed the broccoli until it was almost tender crisp.

Tonight, I put about 26 oz. of stock into a pot, dumped the sausage and veggies in and set it to boil. I added a few handfuls of fresh spinach to the mix and cooked at a simmer until the spinach was wilty. I then added the pasta and mixed until heated through. Seasoned with crushed red pepper and then added shredded parm until it was melty. Soooo good. Oh, I omitted the butter (because I forgot.) It was a little soupy and not saucey, but I can fix that problem.

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