Sausage and Broccoli Pasta is a rich and flavorful pasta dish that is very easy to make, tasty and perfect for a family lunch or dinner with friends. It's a typical dish of the fall/winter season, using strictly seasonal ingredients to create a hearty dish.
Sausage and broccoli pasta is excellent with both short pasta, such as penne or rigatoni, and long pasta, such as spaghetti or fettuccine. In Puglia and neighboring areas, the most common pasta is orecchiette, typical of the area.
The preparation of the sauce is simple. You need to make a soffritto with extra virgin olive oil, chili pepper and garlic. Sauté the crumbled sausage and add the boiled broccoli. Drain the pasta al dente and season, allowing all the ingredients to mix and flavor together.
When the broccoli and sausage sauce meets the pasta, you have a really tasty dish that will win you over from the first bite!
Ingredients
Prep Time: 15 Min | Cook Time: 20 Min | Servings: 4
- 350 g ( ¾ pound) of pasta (I chose Rigatoni)
- 300 g (~10 oz) of broccoli
- 300 g (~10 oz) of sausage
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 fresh or dried chili peppers
- 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- Salt, to taste
Kitchen Tools and Equipment
Here is dome useful kitchen tool you may need to make pasta with sausage and broccoli:
- KNIFE: A chef's knife is essential for efficiently chopping broccoli and skillfully peeling the casing off the sausage.
- CUTTING BOARD: Utilize a cutting board to provide a secure and steady area for slicing the broccoli and dicing the sausage to your desired size.
- SKILLET: A spacious nonstick skillet is recommended for frying the sausage to perfection before incorporating both the broccoli and the pasta, ensuring a cohesive dish.
- SPOON: Employ a wooden spoon or spatula for mixing and flipping the ingredients in the skillet, allowing even cooking and distribution of flavors.
- POT: A large pot designated for pasta is necessary for boiling water to first blanch the broccoli, achieving the perfect tenderness, and subsequently for cooking the pasta to al dente in the same water to conserve flavor and nutrients.
- SKIMMER: A skimmer is an indispensable tool for transferring the cooked pasta directly into the saucepan with the sausage, ensuring a seamless melding of the pasta with the sauce and ingredients.
Instructions
Step 1) - To make Sausage and Broccoli Pasta, start by cleaning the broccoli. Separate the broccoli florets, discarding the outer leaves and hard parts of the stalks. Rinse the broccoli florets under running water and cut them in half or four if they are too large. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli to the boiling water and cook for 7 to 8 minutes.
Step 2) - Meanwhile, remove the casing from the sausage by gently pulling on it with your hands. Cut it into small pieces and set aside.
Step 3) - Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and sauté the garlic clove and chilies for a few minutes. Add the sausage and cook until it has a nice toasted color. While it's cooking, crumble it as much as possible with a fork.
Step 4) - Using a skimmer, without throwing out the cooking water, scoop out the cooked broccoli and add it to the sausage over high heat. When you have added all the broccoli, lower the heat and let everything cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the garlic and chilies if you like. Keep warm.
Step 5) - Meanwhile, bring the broccoli water back to a boil and add the pasta.
PLEASE NOTE: Cooking the pasta in the broccoli cooking water will concentrate the flavor of the pasta because the water is rich in nutrients released by the broccoli.
When cooked, remove the pasta with a skimmer and transfer it to the sauce pan with the heat turned back on.
Step 6) - Cook for a few minutes, adding a little cooking water if necessary. Serve the pasta on individual plates with plenty of broccoli and sausage sauce.
YOU MUST ALSO TRY:
- Italian Stuffed Peppers (with Sausage)
- Creamy Pumpkin Tagliatelle with Sausage and Mushrooms
- Roasted crispy broccoli
- Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe
- Malloreddus alla Campidanese
- Orecchiette with Broccoli, Anchovies and Tomatoes
- Italian Sausage Ragu Recipe
Storage
Broccoli and Sausage Pasta can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days unopened in a suitable container.
Variations
- Type of pasta: as already mentioned for the broccoli and sausage sauce you can use the pasta format you prefer or have on hand.
Homemade fresh egg pasta is also very suitable or even traditional flour and durum wheat shapes such as orechiette or homemade trofie. - Parmigiano Reggiano: for a more intense flavor and greater mantecatura, you can add two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese while the heat is off and stir very well. For a stronger flavor grated pecorino romano will also be very suitable.
- Creaminess: for a creamier dish many add a little fresh ricotta or spreadable cheese. I do not recommend using cream and butter, which would make an already very rich dish overly fatty.
- Hot pepper: if you do not like the spicy taste omit the use of hot pepper.
Recipe Card
Sausage and Broccoli Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 350 g pasta ¾ pound (I chose Rigatoni)
- 300 g broccoli ~10 oz
- 300 g sausage ~10 oz
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 chili peppers fresh or dried
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the broccoli florets under running water and cut them in half or four if they are too large. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli to the boiling water and cook for 7 to 8 minutes.
- Remove the casing from the sausage by gently pulling on it with your hands. Cut it into small pieces and set aside.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and sauté the garlic clove and chilies for a few minutes. Add the sausage and cook until it has a nice toasted color. While it's cooking, crumble it as much as possible with a fork.
- Using a skimmer, without throwing out the cooking water, scoop out the cooked broccoli and add it to the sausage over high heat. When you have added all the broccoli, lower the heat and let everything cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the garlic and chilies if you like. Keep warm.
- Bring the broccoli water back to a boil and add the pasta. When cooked, remove the pasta with a skimmer and transfer it to the sauce pan with the heat turned back on.
- Cook for a few minutes, adding a little cooking water if necessary. Serve the pasta on individual plates with plenty of broccoli and sausage sauce.
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