Broccoli and Sausage Orecchiette
with basil and parmesan
Broccoli, sausage, and tomato sauce make a great combination for a pasta dish. Try it with orecchiette (translated: little ear pasta) or your favorite pasta shape.
Smarts: Italians incorporate pasta water into their sauces. If you salted your water enough, it should be thick and tasty and help make your sauce even creamier and more flavorful.
Ingredients
- Onions, medium - 1, sliced
- Broccoli - 1 1/4 lb, chopped
- Basil (opt) - 4 sprigs, chiffonaded
- Pasta, orecchiette - 8 oz ((sub any small pasta shape))
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Italian sausage, uncooked - 10 oz
- Crushed tomatoes - 2 cups
- Red pepper flakes (opt) - 1/4 tsp
- Lemons - 1/2, juice of
- Cheese, Parmesan - 2 oz, shaved or grated
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Onions - Slice. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Broccoli - Chop into bite-sized pieces. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Basil - Chiffonade.
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Make
- Bring a sauce pan of water to boil. Salt generously and add pasta (if cooking Thursday’s noodle soup, add an additional 1 cup - for 4 servings - of pasta). Cook until al dente, tender but not soggy. About 1 minute before finishing, add in broccoli. Drain, saving ½ cup (or 118 ml) of pasta water (for 4 servings, adjust accordingly if customizing). If you added additional pasta for Thursday, scoop up 2.5 cups (or 470 ml) - again for 4 servings; adjust accordingly if customizing - of cooked pasta and save.
- Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil and then sausage to heated oil. Break sausage up and cook until brown on the outside, 3 to 5 minutes. (If you have a good non-stick pan, you can skip the oil.)
- Add crushed tomatoes and pasta water with red pepper flakes (if using), and saute for ~2 minutes.
- Mix pasta and broccoli into the sauce, and saute until everything is cooked through.
- Remove from heat. Fold in basil, and finish with lemon juice and parmesan cheese (if using). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
76 reviews
Very tasty. Could sub another vegetable for broccoli. Was nice to have a veggie but didn't add much to the flavor profile.
0 HelpfulThis is one of our favorite recipes. Not only is it easy (no cutting up meat!), but it's also really flavorful and filling. Unfortunately, the broccoli gives my husband stomach pain, so I made it with baby spinach last time and we loved it even more.
0 HelpfulMy broccoli was too old so I left it out, but the result was easy to prepare, filling and tasty.
0 HelpfulAmazing!!! My family loved it. Brilliant ide using a bit of lemon juice, I used fresh squeezed and it turned out so good. My picky 3 year old was even licking her high chair tray hah!
0 HelpfulVery good, but I totally agree with some of the previous reviews that it depends on the quality and flavor of the sausage selected. I used mild italian sausage, but it seemed to be missing something. Maybe I'll use the spicy variety next time, or regular sausage rather than italian. Still very enjoyable. Actually tasted better the next day for lunch after all of the flavors had bound together overnight.
0 HelpfulYou'd have to do something pretty crazy to make me dislike pasta, but the flavors here were really nice. It helps that I've been on an italian sausage kick lately, too. I added some italian seasonings to spice it up a bit (I love oregano).
0 Helpful