Orecchiette pasta with broccoli, Italian pork sausage and chilli

Serves Icon
Serves4
Time 40 Minutes
Ingredients
  • 400g Orecchiette pasta
  • 500g broccoli, cut into small florets
  • 300g Italian pork sausages, skin removed
  • 5 tablespoons (100ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 2 small red chillies, finely chopped
  • Parmigiano Reggiano to serve
  • Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

How to Make It
Step 1

Cook the broccoli in a large pot of boiling water over medium heat until very tender (approximately 20-25 minutes). Take the pot off the heat. Remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon and transfer to a chopping board. Roughly chop the broccoli.

Step 2

Place the pot with broccoli infused water on high heat and bring to the boil (add more water, if required). Add a pinch of salt and Orecchiette pasta to the boiling water and cook until ‘al dente’ – refer to the cooking time specified in pasta packet instructions. Drain the pasta.

Step 3

Meanwhile heat half of the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli. Cook for 2 minutes or until aromatic. Break up the sausage meat with your hands and add it to the frying pan. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, breaking up any lumps until the sausage meat is lightly browned all over. Stir in the broccoli and remaining olive oil. Cook over the heat for 2 minutes. Season to taste. Remove from the heat.

Step 4

Add the pasta and toss to combine. Serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano on top – buon appetito.

400g Orecchiette pasta|500g broccoli, cut into small florets|300g Italian pork sausages, skin removed|5 tablespoons (100ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve|1 garlic clove, crushed|2 small red chillies, finely chopped|Parmigiano Reggiano to serve|Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

Vanessa Bottaro

Author, Founder and Creative Director at Italian Spoon
In my eyes, Italian cuisine is love on a plate.

Vanessa is Creative Director of the Italian Spoon website and Author of The Italian entertaining cookbook, a collection of home-style Italian recipes and tips for entertaining in true Italian-style. In addition to cooking and taking photographs, Vanessa writes the recipes and blogs to bring the love of Italian cooking to life! The collection of recipes and blogs on the website have been inspired by travels to Italy and desire to share what she has learnt from the great ‘Mamma’s and ‘Nonna’s in her life!

Vanessa is an entrepreneur and wife to husband Simone and the mother of two beautiful kids Dante and Mia. Even so she was born and lives in Melbourne Australia, Vanessa has a deep connection to Italy. Perhaps it is the food, or maybe it is because it is the place where Vanessa met the love of her life, Simone to whom she has been happily married for so many years.
Vanessa Bottaro

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