
Orecchiette, Sausage, Rapini Recipe
Savor our orecchiette pasta tossed with savory sausage and vibrant rapini for a hearty and flavorful dish.
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Ingredients
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General
Pasta
Sausage
Rapini
Method
Preparation
- 1
Prepare the rapini
Trim the tough ends off the rapini. Rinse thoroughly and set aside.
- 2
Boil water
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. This will be used for both blanching the rapini and cooking the pasta.
Cooking Rapini
- 3
Blanch the rapini
Once the water is boiling, add the rapini and cook for 2-3 minutes until bright green and slightly tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to an ice bath or run under cold water to stop cooking. Drain well and set aside.
Cooking Sausage
- 4
Cook the sausage
In a large skillet over medium heat, add a splash of olive oil. Remove the sausage from its casing if necessary, and cook, breaking it apart with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Set aside on a plate.
Cooking Pasta
- 5
Cook the orecchiette
In the same pot of boiling water, add the orecchiette pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta.
Combining All
- 6
- 7
Add the cooked orecchiette to the skillet along with a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss everything together until well coated and heated through. Add more pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce.
- 8
Season with salt, pepper, and optional red pepper flakes for heat. Top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired before serving.


