As much as I love to dabble in the kitchen all day long, I admit that there are days when our family is busy or I just don’t feel like dedicating that much time to dinner. The problem is, I don’t like to fall back on some overly-processed meal-in-a-box as the alternative. Sound familiar? I’ve found that it’s helpful to have a few quick, delicious dishes up my sleeve, and in talking with friends and family I’ve come to realize that I need to blog more about those types of meals. If you need a little inspiration, I hope you find it in a few of the coming recipes for quick meals that I’ll be writing about throughout the winter.
This orecchiette with sausage, broccoli, and sun-dried tomatoes, takes barely any time at all. Maybe 30 minutes to get it on the table, if even. I love to load a meal up with a healthy vegetable– the broccoli (or broccoli rabe, if you prefer) is just lovely in this dish. Pairing it with sweet italian sausage is always a good decision. Make sure to buy a good sweet italian sausage– we get ours locally and the spices are amazing! And remember all of those sun-dried tomatoes I’ve been making? The ones I put in a jar of olive oil are absolutely sublime in here. If you didn’t dedicate the time to preparing your own, you can always buy a jar at your local market. I like to kick this dish up with a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes and some freshly grated parmesan. So, even if you’re pressed for time, I hope you can sit down and enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal. Enjoy!
The Recipe: Orecchiette with Sausage, Broccoli, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
(serves 4)
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 large head broccoli, cut into small florets (around 4 1/2 cups)
1/2 pound dried orecchiette
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 – 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (or substitute part of it with the olive oil from sun-dried tomatoes, if you can spare any)
1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
1/3 cup (or more) parmesan cheese, for garnish
red pepper flakes, for garnish
Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil.
In a large 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, brown the sweet italian sausage. Drain grease. Meanwhile, cook the pasta. To the skillet add the olive oil (if you can spare any from the sun-dried tomatoes, the flavor is incredible), garlic, and broccoli and cook until the broccoli is tender, but not mushy– about 5 minutes. When the pasta is al dente (follow the cooking instructions), reserve a bit of the water, and drain the rest. Add the hot pasta to the pan of sausage and broccoli. Toss in the sun-dried tomatoes. If more moisture is needed, either loosen with more olive oil, or a bit of pasta water. Salt and pepper, as needed. This is big– don’t forget the salt! Top with parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by Relishing It!
Laurie
Relishing It 