Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Here’s a word to add to your pasta vocabulary: orecchiette, which means “little ears.” Paired with pork sausage, this dish is a staple of Italian-American menus. We’ve seasoned with fennel seed to deliver added sausage flavour and feature a light yet super-flavourful broth. Best known in Italy, broccoli rabe (pronounced rahb), aka broccoli raap, rapini, or broccoli di rape, just may be suffering from an identity crisis. Not only is this bitter green vegetable known by several different names, it’s actually not even broccoli. Although both broccoli and broccoli rabe are members of the Brassica family, broccoli rabe is actually a closer relative to the turnip than its distant cousin and namesake. Whatever you choose to call it, broccoli rabe packs a nutritional punch, supplying your body with ample amounts of calcium, iron, potassium, and vitamins A and K.

Fat       Calories

Before:   42           865
After:     10           278.5

Serves four (9 ounces per portion)

Ingredients

• 6 Oz Whole Wheat Orecchiette
• 2 C Broccoli Rabe, Cut into 1-Inch, 1-2 Bunches
• 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 8 Large Cloves Garlic, Thinly Sliced
• 1/8 Tsp Pepperoncino (Crushed Red Pepper Flakes)
• 2 Tsp Fennel Seeds, Finely Chopped 1 Link (3 ½ Oz) Pork Mild Italian Sausage, De-Cased
• 2 C Fat-Free, Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
• Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, Microplaned
• 3 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Cilantro

Directions

Remove the sausage from the casing and begin browning in the skillet. In the same skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until it is golden brown, about 2 minutes, then add the red pepper flakes and fennel seeds. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and add 2 tablespoons salt. Add the orecchiette and cook about 1 minute less than the package directions for al dente. Add the broccoli rabe and cook for 1 minute. Drain.

Add the broccoli rabe and pasta to the skillet, tossing to coat evenly with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper and add three-quarters of the Parmigianino.

Spoon the pasta and broth into 4 bowls and sprinkle with the remaining Parmigianino.

Per serving:
278.5 calories, 10g fat (6g sat), 27.5 mg cholesterol, 212.5mg sodium, 36.6g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 12.5g protein

Resource for before nutritionals:
www.food.com/orecchiette-with-spicy-sausage-and-broccoli-rabe

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