Orechiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Pesto

I've always had mixed feelings about Anne Burrell.  She has such a strange personality and says weird things (like calling the yummy stuff that sticks to the bottom of a pan, crud.) that turn me off but her recipes always look delicious.  So when I found out that she had a cookbook coming out I immediately put it on my Christmas list.  My parents gave it to me as one of my gifts (thanks mom and dad!) and now I have half the book covered in post it notes.  I really enjoy reading cookbooks as much as I enjoy the recipes.  I like to get to know the story behind the chef and learn what makes them different.  One of the things I learned from reading Cook Like a Rock Star is that Anne Burrell is not a huge fan of black pepper.  Guess what, either am I.  In almost all of my recipes I write salt and pepper to taste as an ingredient however, I often leave out the pepper or put very little.  I know this may seem silly but it was almost liberating to read that salt and pepper DON'T always have to go together.  It is perfectly OK to leave out the pepper!  So from now on I am letting go of the rule that I somehow learned about where you add salt you add pepper.  Thanks Anne!

I followed this recipe pretty much word for word except I only used anout one-third of the pesto and as always I keep Pecorino Romano cheese in my house so that's what I use.  Other than that the only change I would make next time is to use the full pound of sausage.  This was a fantastic recipe and I can't wait to make some more pasta to eat with the leftover pesto! Just thinking that if you left out the sausage this would be a great meal to serve on one of those meatless nights during Lent. 

Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe Pesto and Sausage

Source: Cook Like a Rockstar by Anne Burrell

Ingredients:

For the Pesto:

Kosher Salt
1 bunches of broccoli rabe, tough lower stems removed, coarsely chopped into 1-inch lengths
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano
Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup mascarpone

For the Pasta:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 pound Italian sausage, sweet or spicy, casings removed
1 pound orecchiette
Big fat finishing oil
Freshly grated Parmigiano

Directions:

For the Pesto:

1.  Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.  Drop the rabe into the water, give it a swish, and remove it immediately, saving the water to cook your pasta in later.

2.  Reserve a cup of the rabe.  Toss the rest in a food processor and pulse, pulse, pulse until you have a coarse paste.  Add the pistachios and Parm and puree until smooth.  If it seems dry, drizzle in a little olive oil while the machine is running.  It should be slightly bitter, nutty, and creamy at the same time. Reserve.

For the Pasta:

1.  Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring a medium-high heat.  Add the sausage, using a spoon to break it up, and cook until brown and crumbly, 8-10 minutes.

2. Bring your broccoli rabe water back to a boil and toss in the pasta, cooking for 1 minute less than the package recommends.  Drain the pasta and add it, along with 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water, the reserved rabe, and two-thirds of the pesto, to the pan with the sausage.  Stir to combine and cook until the water evaporates and the pesto is clinging to the pasta.  Remove from the heat, drizzle with some big fat finishing oil, sprinkle with more Parm, and stir vigorously to combine.  Divide among bowls and serve immediately. 
Click here for a printable version of this recipe.


The dish I served this in is microwave and oven safe.  It can be found by clicking here. 

Orechiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Pesto

I've always had mixed feelings about Anne Burrell.  She has such a strange personality and says weird things (like calling the yummy stuff that sticks to the bottom of a pan, crud.) that turn me off but her recipes always look delicious.  So when I found out that she had a cookbook coming out I immediately put it on my Christmas list.  My parents gave it to me as one of my gifts (thanks mom and dad!) and now I have half the book covered in post it notes.  I really enjoy reading cookbooks as much as I enjoy the recipes.  I like to get to know the story behind the chef and learn what makes them different.  One of the things I learned from reading Cook Like a Rock Star is that Anne Burrell is not a huge fan of black pepper.  Guess what, either am I.  In almost all of my recipes I write salt and pepper to taste as an ingredient however, I often leave out the pepper or put very little.  I know this may seem silly but it was almost liberating to read that salt and pepper DON'T always have to go together.  It is perfectly OK to leave out the pepper!  So from now on I am letting go of the rule that I somehow learned about where you add salt you add pepper.  Thanks Anne!

I followed this recipe pretty much word for word except I only used anout one-third of the pesto and as always I keep Pecorino Romano cheese in my house so that's what I use.  Other than that the only change I would make next time is to use the full pound of sausage.  This was a fantastic recipe and I can't wait to make some more pasta to eat with the leftover pesto! Just thinking that if you left out the sausage this would be a great meal to serve on one of those meatless nights during Lent. 

Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe Pesto and Sausage

Source: Cook Like a Rockstar by Anne Burrell

Ingredients:

For the Pesto:

Kosher Salt
1 bunches of broccoli rabe, tough lower stems removed, coarsely chopped into 1-inch lengths
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano
Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup mascarpone

For the Pasta:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 pound Italian sausage, sweet or spicy, casings removed
1 pound orecchiette
Big fat finishing oil
Freshly grated Parmigiano

Directions:

For the Pesto:

1.  Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.  Drop the rabe into the water, give it a swish, and remove it immediately, saving the water to cook your pasta in later.

2.  Reserve a cup of the rabe.  Toss the rest in a food processor and pulse, pulse, pulse until you have a coarse paste.  Add the pistachios and Parm and puree until smooth.  If it seems dry, drizzle in a little olive oil while the machine is running.  It should be slightly bitter, nutty, and creamy at the same time. Reserve.

For the Pasta:

1.  Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring a medium-high heat.  Add the sausage, using a spoon to break it up, and cook until brown and crumbly, 8-10 minutes.

2. Bring your broccoli rabe water back to a boil and toss in the pasta, cooking for 1 minute less than the package recommends.  Drain the pasta and add it, along with 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water, the reserved rabe, and two-thirds of the pesto, to the pan with the sausage.  Stir to combine and cook until the water evaporates and the pesto is clinging to the pasta.  Remove from the heat, drizzle with some big fat finishing oil, sprinkle with more Parm, and stir vigorously to combine.  Divide among bowls and serve immediately. 
Click here for a printable version of this recipe.


The dish I served this in is microwave and oven safe.  It can be found by clicking here. 

Pesto Pasta Salad

A few weekends ago we went to my friend Jennifer's wedding, Congrats Jen and Brian! At the cocktail hour we had a yummy pasta salad that was dressed in a pesto sauce but had sundried tomatoes and olives in it. Steve and I couldn't remember what else was in it so I threw in some fresh mozzarella. This was a huge hit at our July 4th bbq. I had a feeling it would be because it was good enough to recreate! As usual when I'm making something for an event of some kind I forgot to take photos in a pretty dish so you guys will have to use your imaginations or just make the recipe and see it for yourself!

Pesto Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 pound farfalle pasta
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and sliced
1 cup kalamata olives, sliced
1 8oz. ball of fresh mozzarella, diced
Pesto sauce, see below for recipe (If you like, add some of the oil from the sundried tomatoes to the pesto in place of some of the extra virgin olive oil.)


Directions:

Cook pasta in boiled salted water and drain. Toss with some oil from the sundried tomatoes. (You can stop here and do this the day before or a few hours before and let cool.)

Toss pasta with pesto, sundried tomatoes, olives and mozzarella. Refrigerate and Serve cold.

Pesto Sauce:

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup pinoli nuts
½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese (I always use Locatelli Romano)
½ tsp. salt

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and whirl until a thick uniform paste is formed, add more oil if paste is too thick. This amount is enough for 1 lb pasta. Pesto may be stored in refrigerator for several weeks or in the freezer for several months. Place in a jar or container and coat with a thin layer of olive oil, cover tightly.

Pesto Pasta Salad

A few weekends ago we went to my friend Jennifer's wedding, Congrats Jen and Brian! At the cocktail hour we had a yummy pasta salad that was dressed in a pesto sauce but had sundried tomatoes and olives in it. Steve and I couldn't remember what else was in it so I threw in some fresh mozzarella. This was a huge hit at our July 4th bbq. I had a feeling it would be because it was good enough to recreate! As usual when I'm making something for an event of some kind I forgot to take photos in a pretty dish so you guys will have to use your imaginations or just make the recipe and see it for yourself!

Pesto Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 pound farfalle pasta
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and sliced
1 cup kalamata olives, sliced
1 8oz. ball of fresh mozzarella, diced
Pesto sauce, see below for recipe (If you like, add some of the oil from the sundried tomatoes to the pesto in place of some of the extra virgin olive oil.)


Directions:

Cook pasta in boiled salted water and drain. Toss with some oil from the sundried tomatoes. (You can stop here and do this the day before or a few hours before and let cool.)

Toss pasta with pesto, sundried tomatoes, olives and mozzarella. Refrigerate and Serve cold.

Pesto Sauce:

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup pinoli nuts
½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese (I always use Locatelli Romano)
½ tsp. salt

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and whirl until a thick uniform paste is formed, add more oil if paste is too thick. This amount is enough for 1 lb pasta. Pesto may be stored in refrigerator for several weeks or in the freezer for several months. Place in a jar or container and coat with a thin layer of olive oil, cover tightly.

Pasta with Pesto

I used to be afraid of pesto. I'm not sure why but I didn't grow up eating it. I had it once at a friend's house for the first time. It was over pasta and there were pieces of potato in it. I really liked it. Then as usual I wouldn't order it out because what if it didn't taste the same. What if I only liked it that way because the particular person who made it did something so unique and special? Not really. The older I get the more I have gotten over my fear of eating new things. I wouldn't be much of a foodie if I didn't try new food, would I? The next time I had Pesto was when Steve's mom made it. I was definitely nervous but I was in the stage of my relationship where if Steve liked it I would just eat it because I didn't want to seem difficult or picky. Turned out that again I loved it! I made sure I got my hands on the recipe and this is what I've been using ever since. It comes from an out of print James Beard Cookbook that I can't get my hands on. (It has since been reprinted AND CHANGED in the new cookbook and the measurements don't work for us.) This is a great dish to make when it's too hot to turn on the oven or when you simply want to use some of that beautiful summer basil.

Here's the James Beard Recipe - Thank You Lyn for sharing this with me!

1 cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup pinoli nuts
½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese (I always use Locatelli Romano)
½ tsp. salt

Place all ingredients in a blender and whirl until a thick uniform paste is formed, add more oil if paste is too thick. This amount is enough for 1 lb pasta. Pesto may be stored in refrigerator for several weeks or in the freezer for several months. Place in a jar or container and coat with a thin layer of olive oil, cover tightly.

Note: You can use chicken broth to thin out the paste if you don’t want to add more oil.

Pasta with Pesto

I used to be afraid of pesto. I'm not sure why but I didn't grow up eating it. I had it once at a friend's house for the first time. It was over pasta and there were pieces of potato in it. I really liked it. Then as usual I wouldn't order it out because what if it didn't taste the same. What if I only liked it that way because the particular person who made it did something so unique and special? Not really. The older I get the more I have gotten over my fear of eating new things. I wouldn't be much of a foodie if I didn't try new food, would I? The next time I had Pesto was when Steve's mom made it. I was definitely nervous but I was in the stage of my relationship where if Steve liked it I would just eat it because I didn't want to seem difficult or picky. Turned out that again I loved it! I made sure I got my hands on the recipe and this is what I've been using ever since. It comes from an out of print James Beard Cookbook that I can't get my hands on. (It has since been reprinted AND CHANGED in the new cookbook and the measurements don't work for us.) This is a great dish to make when it's too hot to turn on the oven or when you simply want to use some of that beautiful summer basil.

Here's the James Beard Recipe - Thank You Lyn for sharing this with me!

1 cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup pinoli nuts
½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese (I always use Locatelli Romano)
½ tsp. salt

Place all ingredients in a blender and whirl until a thick uniform paste is formed, add more oil if paste is too thick. This amount is enough for 1 lb pasta. Pesto may be stored in refrigerator for several weeks or in the freezer for several months. Place in a jar or container and coat with a thin layer of olive oil, cover tightly.

Note: You can use chicken broth to thin out the paste if you don’t want to add more oil.