SAUSAGE & BROCCOLI PASTA

Posted on by eefulton

This is a dish of almosts. It’s almost 5 ingredients. It’s almost 1 pot. But I promise there is no almost when it comes to flavor.

My name is Ellyn & I have a problem. I cannot have a pasta without frozen peas. There’s really nothing to be done about it. I cannot think of a single pasta that isn’t better with frozen peas. Nope, just can’t. 

So if you’re a stickler about the 5 ingredient rule & you’re not obsessed with frozen peas like I am, I guess you could skip them. I always, always have frozen peas so it almost doesn’t even count as an ingredient for me. 

Technically this is a 2 pot dish, but one of those is just for cooking the pasta. And if we are all honest how well do we actually scrub a pot that only had pasta in it. Don’t lie. 

Maybe this pasta dish is a metaphor for life.. sometimes the almost can still be pretty delicious. Reaching? 

Happy cooking! xx

ellyn 

TIME: 30 minutes

SERVINGS: 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

  • 12 oz pasta – I used orecchiette!
  • 1 lb italian sausage – I like mild, but you could use hot!
  • 1 medium head of broccoli
  • 1.5 cups half & half
  • ½ cup pasta water 
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  • ½ cup peas if you like to break all the rules

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Cook pasta in salted, boiling water until al dente. Reserve a ½ cup of the pasta water after the pasta has cooked in it. Drain & set aside.
  2. In a large skillet cook the italian sausage. Once it is cooked through, remove & let drain on a paper towel lined plate, leaving the excess fat in the pan. 
  3. Chop broccoli pretty small. Add to the skillet over medium heat. Let it absorb all the fat & become bright & tender. 
  4. Add back the sausage, half & half, pasta water, salt & pepper. Bring to a simmer & let reduce for about 5 minutes. 
  5. Add in al dente pasta. Before stirring it in sprinkle with parmesan cheese.* You can also add in your peas here if you want!
  6. Mix well & let everything combine for another 2-3 minutes. I may have hit it with a few red pepper flakes too.
  7. Enjoy!

NOTES:

* By adding cheese directly to the hot pasta before mixing it in you’ll create a more cohesive dish. The cheese will melt & stick to the pasta, then the sauce will stick to the melted cheese.