Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

Orecchiette con le cime di rapa is a hearty, subtly spicy pasta dish that might be the most signature (and identifiable) dish of Italy's heel.
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[@bonita1228]

I love watching Dan cook. His What’s Eating series is the best.

[@josephgaviota]

I love Bridgete and Julia, _AND_ Dan and Lam, _AND_ Adam and Bryan, and ... gosh, I guess I just enjoy nearly *all* of them.

[@DrakeLovett]

One thing that transformed this dish for me was making fresh orecchiette just before making the dish, the texture of fresh is completely different and really makes this exceptional

[@samhugh4965]

My mom is from Puglia, and I had the opportunity to visit family for 6 weeks when I was in high school. Best food I ever had.

[@hummersd]

1. Love Dan. 2. Love ATK. 3. Love anything Italian.

[@phil4208]

So simple yet full of flavor and healthy , no we're not going to olive garden tonight, or ever again

[@DJL78]

Dan is the gift that keeps giving. 😍

[@billy4072]

What? Exactly..🙄

[@bryanmathew2079]

Lol😊

[@markwarchol3139]

This dish is so easy to make since ATK goes into great detail in explaining the components of the dish!

[@tom_something]

Measuring cup in the colander, that's clever! I have occasionally forgotten to reserve some pasta water.

[@BikesCarsAndSake]

This is one of my favorite dishes! Thanks for showing a different way of cooking it.

[@glentilley4970]

Thanks to ATK and especially Dan for another great dish! Videos featuring Dan are always fun AND informative. The fascinating history of these delicious meals.

[@sandrah7512]

Apparently this dish was developed for Cook's Illustrated about 30 years ago. Dan would've been in around Grade 6 at that time (likely stealing asparagus from the neighbours).

[@yojeffschott]

Great to see Bridget and Dan! Thanks for sharing 🙂

[@MarkWladika]

It's a terrific and easy dish to make. The challenge is not to get it over salted. The sausage, cheese and pasta water all contribute to the saltiness.

[@WaynoGur]

One of our favourite dishes. My grandfather was from this region.

[@itsjohndell]

Rabe and Garlic define my life. Good sausage defines Nirvana.

[@MikeyD22]

Awesome presentation! Thanks so much for sharing!

[@kathyradford7187]

That looks amazing.

[@mariehud7382]

Been making this for years and we love it..

[@debbiealtman5373]

Now that looks delicious

[@geol1936]

Classic straight ahead recipe. I would add one thing - blanch only the stems of the broccoli rabe for two minutes, then throw leafy portions in to follow. Stems get tender on par with the leafy parts.

[@cathylynn57]

A new pasta recipe! Looking forward to making this. Good tip placing measuring cup in the strainer, too many times I’ve forgotten to save some of the water. Thanks.

[@John-wx2ce]

Excellent technique! I deglazed the sausage with white wine and added a 1/2 tsp of chicken Demi concentrate. Awesome!

[@deeannhansen1469]

Looks amazing!!

[@PeterAzak]

I made this last week using the recipe; I didn't have the orecchiette or the Pecorino Romano, but the substitutes still made it one of the best dishes I've ever cooked.

[@eggplayer56]

Please keep up the meal prep videos. This one was excellent and inspiring!

[@Zefram0911]

Dan loves that macaroni in a pot sound.. hehe if you know what i mean...

[@lindac7146]

Beautiful.

[@stevef.8708]

Yay! New Dan content. Can’t we have this every day? ❤

[@philipferrato]

Many, many thumbs up!

[@cathylynn57]

Delicious! Used baby broccoli and shredded Parmesan since that is what I had. Even the person who thinks I make too many pasta dishes loved it.

[@jeanne-marie8196]

Dan and Bridget. Perfect!

[@Sinyarlj]

Yum yum with Alfredo ❤

[@halmorse5879]

Here is a little trick when taking Sausage from casings....Slit the casing as shown ....then take a teaspoon and scrape the sausage meat from the casing onto dish....quick, easy, and less messy. Also adding finely minced mushroom will add a nice flavor and texture.

[@tompagano9015]

Dan has a great video on the use of shrimp shells. This video is useful but there are lots of ways to cook broccoli rabe. I am of the school of don’t cook it to mush. Dan says he likes it soft , yet he only cooks the rabe TWO minutes. Unless I missed something , he did not do much additional braising. Two minutes? We are talking at least 8 -10 minutes cooking rabe unless you like it really chewy especially with stems. I like those recipes that add a tan of butter.

[@redcomet0079]

Finally Bridget makes her return!!!! 🎉🎊🥳

[@matteoingrao6080]

Nice job

[@SnakeAndTurtleQigong]

Thanks so much

[@omiwinky]

“You can tell because of the way it is!”

[@omiwinky]

“That’s the BEST sound”

[@melstarr1864]

Would this work with a different green, like maybe kale?

[@jackcarter2767]

I've done it with spinach and regular broccoli before. It works just fine. If you're gonna do kale, I recommend dinosaur kale (not curly kale).

[@johnlord8337]

Aye !!!!! Theres Bridgetta and Danno ....

[@jamesbarbato2192]

So much better when you sauté onion and garlic and add a some white wine

[@dawnpatrol13]

That's what good {pasta} sounds like.

[@holylampposts]

Lmao.7:20 We all know what that sounds like.

[@AllanArmstrong]

Just made it per your excellent instruction. I found myself adding more and more cheese at the end to this mild dish. Salt too. Oops.

[@marymonk]

HELP...QUESTION: This is not the recipe in the magazine that I have had for years. It fell apart and I lost the page. The sauce was lemon juice, garlic and anchovies....it was not water. Also the cheese was parmesan. It was DECEMBER 2011 ISSUE and it was on page 18. The name of the recipe was Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage. Could you please provide a link to that recipe? Or if not....a way to buy that book again. :(

[@aaronmerry]

Cardi B has entered the chat

[@ah4598]

Broccoli Rabe must be a regional thing because I've never seen it anywhere, not even frozen

[@markwarchol3139]

I’ve used spinach and rapini as a substitute, and it turned out great each time! I actually prefer spinach because it’s less bitter.

[@sandrah7512]

@markwarchol3139 rapini is not a substitute - it's the same thing.

[@josephgaviota]

@@markwarchol3139 _I’ve used spinach and rapini as a substitute, and it turned out great each time! I actually prefer spinach because it’s less bitter._ I think I'd agree with Mark's analysis.

[@jw77019]

It tastes like mustard greens with the texture of turnip greens. They used to sell it frozen at Whole Foods before Amazon bought and ruined it.

[@chrisandersen5635]

Here on the West Coast, we get baby broccoli. Not sure if it’s the same, but it’s good and seems a good alternative. If it’s not bitter enough, add arugula or escarole the way you might add spinach.

[@hammock753]

So we can’t follow the recipe link unless we have a membership?

[@jerzygirl6072]

Watched Girl Meets Farm starring Molly Yeh. She made this exact dish.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Haha Broccoli Dan is good! We’re calling him that lol

[@blucifa]

Dan!🥰

[@brotherflag]

Is that a seasoned Made In carbon steel pan?

[@sandrah7512]

It's likely ATK's favourite carbon steel pan by Matfer Bourgeat

[@BeautifulKittenOfLove]

HOW DID IT END? (I fainted when Dan said he took out his "trusty 12 inch")

[@mmahtnart8986]

Broccoli Rabe does not exist in my neck of the woods )-; What would be a good substitute?

[@louisel.sinniger2057]

Not keen for Broccoli Rabe so would Broccolini OR even Broccoli work? I LOVE relatively quick but flavorful dishes like this. Mmmm

[@marybretired]

The cost and limited a availability of broccoli rabe make this totally outside the possible.

[@bluper10]

Dan Souza is my perfect man. Such a thirst trap.

[@hificat101]

I love thos dish but with broccolini instead of rabe, but I can't seem to find broccolini any more.

[@exchangestudent2]

I'm never going to make this. Here bc of Dan.

[@DoughboyGod]

🏈🏀🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏀🏈

[@gghostrrider]

Doesn’t blanching mean it’s put into ice bath after boiling, to stop the carryover cooking?

[@sandrah7512]

Blanching is scalding vegetables or fruit briefly in boiling water. Shocking is stopping the cooking process by plunging the blanched food in an ice bath. So you typically do both, but the blanching is the boiling part.

[@gghostrrider]

@@sandrah7512 Thank you!!

[@BatPotatoes]

This seems more clunky than the usual Italian pasta technique but I imagine it's better for beginner cooks

[@charlesviner1565]

🖐Hi

[@kathyradford7187]

I cant find broccoli rabe in my town

[@sandrah7512]

How about rapini? (same thing)

[@markwarchol3139]

I’ve used spinach a few times, or also rapini, and it turned out great!

[@josephgaviota]

@@markwarchol3139 Dang, spinach would probably be a GREAT substitute, and probably taste even BETTER.

[@sebeckley]

I'm unclear as to why you wouldn't add two tablespoons of butter to the dish at the end to finish.

[@jackcarter2767]

you definitely could if you wanted. when I make this, I sometimes add a splash of extra virgin olive oil to finish. If I had to bet, they didn't do that because they added cheese on top of pork fat.

[@stellastai7101]

Love you Dan but I’ll stick with Lidia’s method. Prefer pasta sciuta

[@markbrookes6557]

There is not one guest host chef I don't enjoy!

[@elainepietrzak8093]

Looks greasy and yuccky

[@jong2359]

It is exactly as greasy as you are lazy. Drain as much as your heart desires until you no longer see yucky. Me, I will just be over here enjoying my yucky version.

[@charlieharris3240]

Yucky? 😆What are you - six? Does Mommy know you're playing with her phone?

[@jackcarter2767]

Yucky is subjective, I guess, but it definitely doesn't look greasy. It's actually very well emulsified.

[@hailynewma9122]

why spoil it with sausage

[@exchangestudent2]

Flavor. Eat your meat, enjoy your life.