Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe, Sausage and Chile: The Puglian Pasta That Cooks in One Pot
In Bari, the orecchiette and the broccoli rabe go into the same pot of boiling water, and that single decision is the whole recipe. The greens cook in the minutes the pasta needs, their bitterness seasons the water, the pasta absorbs it, and when everything is drained together and tossed with garlic, anchovy and chile warmed in olive oil, the little ears scoop up the softened greens the way no other shape can. The Puglian original has no sausage. The rest of Italy, and then America, added it, and nobody in Bari objects too loudly.
This is the dish our pasta shapes guide uses to explain orecchiette, and it is the best twenty-minute dinner in the Italian repertoire. Here is the method, the reasoning behind each step, and the pantry that makes it work.
Why it works
Broccoli rabe, cime di rapa, is bitter, and bitterness wants three companions: fat, salt and heat. The olive oil and sausage supply the fat, the anchovy and pecorino the salt, the chile the heat. The anchovy is the secret. Melted into the warm oil, it disappears completely and leaves a savory depth that tastes of nothing but "more"; skip it and the dish is flat. The pasta water, seasoned by the greens, becomes the sauce when a ladle of it emulsifies with the oil in the pan.
The pantry
Orecchiette with a rough surface and a thick rim: Rustichella's is the standard, and Marella's multicolor orecchiette, hand-shaped in Puglia itself, is the version for a table that likes to look. Anchovies from a good tin; our anchovy guide covers what to buy. A fruity extra virgin olive oil and a dried chile with some flavor rather than just heat; a Calabrian or Aleppo flake from our spice shelf is better than generic red pepper. Pecorino, not Parmigiano, because the sheep's cheese has the salt and tang the greens want.
The recipe
Serves four. About twenty minutes.
- 1 pound (450 to 500 g) orecchiette
- 1 large bunch broccoli rabe, about 1 pound, tough lower stems trimmed, cut into 2-inch lengths
- 3/4 pound Italian sausage, sweet or hot, casings removed, optional
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 4 anchovy fillets
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon chile flakes
- Salt
- Grated pecorino, to serve
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well; less than usual, since the anchovies and pecorino are salty.
- If using sausage, brown it in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into small pieces, until crisp at the edges, about 8 minutes. Move it to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan.
- Drop the orecchiette into the boiling water and set a timer for two minutes less than the package says. Give the pot a stir so the ears do not stick together.
- While it cooks, lower the skillet to medium, add the olive oil, garlic, anchovies and chile, and cook gently, mashing the anchovies with a spoon, until the garlic is soft and pale gold and the anchovies have dissolved, about 3 minutes. Do not let the garlic brown. Turn off the heat.
- Four minutes before the pasta is done, add the broccoli rabe to the pasta pot. It will look like too much; it wilts. Push it under.
- When the timer goes, scoop out a cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and greens together.
- Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the pasta and greens, the sausage, and half a cup of the reserved water. Toss hard for a minute or two, until the water and oil come together into a light sauce that clings to the ears; add more water if it looks dry. Taste for salt.
- Serve in warm bowls with a thread of raw olive oil over the top and pecorino for everyone to grate.
Variations
Without sausage is the original. Double the anchovies and add a handful of toasted breadcrumbs at the end, the Puglian "poor man's cheese," for crunch. Without anchovy, if you must, use a spoon of mushroom garum in the oil for the same savory depth. With more heat, finish with a few drops of a fruity hot sauce at the table. With other greens: kale, chard or regular broccoli all work, though none has rabe's bitterness; add a squeeze of lemon to compensate.
The mistakes
Browning the garlic, which turns bitter and fights the greens. Draining the pasta without saving water, which leaves you nothing to make the sauce with. Overcooking the rabe; four minutes in the pasta water is plenty, and it keeps cooking in the pan. Using Parmigiano; pecorino is right. And cooking the pasta to the package time; orecchiette should have a real bite, because the ears keep cooking while you toss.
At Denver's altitude, add a minute to the pasta time and taste before draining, which our altitude guide explains. The orecchiette, anchovies, chile and olive oil are at 263 Josephine Street in Cherry Creek, Denver, and ship nationwide from theambrosianpantry.com. The rabe and the sausage are the grocery run.
