No nonsense, just the recipe.
— Julian.
This is one of my go-tos for a weeknight dinner that is delicious, quick and easy to prepare, and does not break the bank.
- 1 pack of sausage (4 links or so, about 500g)
- 1 bunch, rapini
- 225g Orichietti (about half a bag from La Molisana)
- Pecorino Romano
- Balsamic vinegar
- Some sort of oil (e.g. Canola/Vegetable)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Set a pot of water on boil, don't forget to salt it.
- While waiting for the water to boil, squeeze sausage out of casing. Break apart each link into ~4 segments and roll into a ball. Use your judgement based on sausage size as to whether you can get more out of each sausage.
- Stove on medium — Pan fry the sausage, stirring regularly to brown on all sides.
- Add pasta to water once boiling — stir occasionally. Cook as per package directions, reserve 1 cup pasta water.
- While sausage and pasta are browning and cooking respectively, wash and trim the ends off the bunch of rapini. Reserve stems for next step. Roughly chop the stems and leaves (separately) two or three times down to bite-sized pieces.
- Stove off — Deglaze pan with several tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (you want to use enough so that it does not evaporate immediately), taking care to scrape off the fond from the bottom.
- Evacuate sausage to separate bowl.
- Stove on medium — pan fry rapini stems in olive oil, add leaves after several minutes, and stir occasionally until leaves have wilted.
- Stove off — Add pasta and sausage to rapini, quarter-cup of olive oil, and a good splash of the pasta water. You want the oil and starchy water to create the creamy emulsion.
- Grate in a good amount (half a cup or so) pecorino cheese, stir to combine to make the sauce. Add pasta water as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
Tips:
- You can opt to brown some armoatics (onions/garlic) while you're preparing the sausage.