Sausage & Broccoli Pasta

Name: Sausage & Broccoli Pasta
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 150g Pork and Fennel Sausage, I used Salsiccia brand for best macros; 90g Orecchiette; 1/2 Onion, finely sliced; 125g Tenderstem Broccoli, chopped; 1 1/2 cloves of Garlic, sliced; 1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes; 1/2 tbsp Butter; 20g Parmesan, finely grated; Some Salt; Some Pepper (Black); 1/4 lemon of Lemon Juice

A hearty, weeknight pasta with crisped pork and fennel sausage, tender broccoli, and a bright finish of Parmesan and lemon. The buttery sauce clings to the orecchiette, while chilli and black pepper add gentle heat and plenty of savoury depth.

A hearty, weeknight pasta with crisped pork and fennel sausage, tender broccoli, and a bright finish of Parmesan and lemon. The bu... Show more

By finntonry · Original recipe

Health Grade

B- · Healthy

Rating

4.0

Time

25 min

Price

1,69 €

Calories

499 kcal

low calorie

quick

easy

high protein

Method

Boil the water

Fill a large pot with water, add plenty of Salt, and bring it to a full boil over high heat. You want the water well seasoned so the pasta is flavored from the inside out.

Prep the vegetables

While the water heats, finely slice the Onion, slice the Garlic, and chop the Tenderstem Broccoli into bite-sized pieces so it cooks quickly and mixes evenly through the pasta.

Prep the sausage

Remove the skins from the Pork and Fennel Sausages, then crumble the meat into small rough pieces with your fingers. Keeping the pieces fairly small helps them brown well and cling to the pasta later.

Cook the pasta

Add the Orecchiette to the boiling water and cook until al dente, following the packet timing as a guide. Give it a stir at the start so it doesn’t stick together.

Brown the sausage

Set a large frying pan over medium heat and add the sausage meat. Cook it, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until it is deeply golden and crisp around the edges, with plenty of browned bits forming on the pan.

Soften the aromatics

Add the sliced onion and garlic to the pan with the sausage and cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until the onion softens and the garlic smells fragrant without taking on too much color. Stir in the Chilli Flakes for the last brief moment so they bloom in the fat.

Add broccoli and deglaze

Stir the chopped broccoli into the pan, then ladle in a splash of the pasta cooking water. Scrape the bottom of the pan well to lift all the browned bits, and cook until the broccoli turns bright green and is just tender but still has a little bite.

Drain and reserve water

Scoop out and reserve about a mug of the pasta water, then drain the pasta well.

Toss into a sauce

Add the drained pasta to the pan along with the Butter and a little more reserved pasta water. Toss everything together vigorously until the butter melts and the liquid turns glossy, coating the pasta and sausage evenly.

Finish and serve

Take the pan off the heat and mix in the Parmesan and a squeeze of Lemon Juice. Finish with Black Pepper, taste, and add a little more salt if needed, then serve straight away while it’s silky and hot.