"Little Ears" Pasta
with Broccoli and Pesto
The backbone of this dish is orecchiette—a round-shaped pasta named for the “little ears” they resemble. It’s traditionally associated with Apulia, the southern Italian region from which we drew our inspiration for this recipe. The pasta is tossed with bites of broccoli and sweet sausage, then given a nice coating of basil-packing pesto and Parmesan cheese.
Produced in a facility that processes eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat.
/ serving 4 people
/ serving 4 people
18 ounce
Italian Pork Sausage
12 ounce
Orecchiette Pasta
(ContainsWheat)16 ounce
Broccoli Florets
4 ounce
Pesto
(ContainsMilk)1 teaspoon
Chili Flakes
½ cup
Parmesan Cheese
(ContainsMilk)Not included in your delivery
4 teaspoon
Olive Oil
unit
Kosher Salt
unit
Pepper
Wash and dry all produce. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut any large broccoli florets into bite-sized pieces. Remove sausage from casings.
Once water is boiling, add orecchiette to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. Carefully scoop out and reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain.
Heat a large drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add broccoli and 4 tsp water. Cover and steam 3 minutes. Uncover and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, tossing occasionally, until browned and tender, 3-6 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside.
Heat another large drizzle of olive oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage, breaking up into pieces with a spatula or wooden spoon. Cook until crisp at edges and no longer pink, 4-5 minutes. Add a pinch of chili flakes (to taste) and cook another 30 seconds.
Add broccoli, pesto, pasta cooking water, sausage mixture, and half the Parmesan to pot with orecchiette. Return pot to stove over mediumhigh heat. Toss until everything is wellcoated and a thick sauce has formed, 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide orecchiette mixture between plates. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and serve.