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Broccoli Rabe

Pot of Pasta With Broccoli Rabe & Chorizo Bread Crumbs

by:
October 23, 2019
4.6
5 Ratings
Photo by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Serves 4 to 6
Author Notes

Reprinted from Nothing Fancy. Copyright © 2019 by Alison Roman. Photographs copyright © 2019 by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. —Alison Roman

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Ingredients
  • 1 pound fresh chorizo or spicy hot Italian sausage (about 4 links), casings removed
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more as needed
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh coarse bread crumbs or panko
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound dried tube-shaped pasta, such as rigatoni or ziti
  • 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste (one 4-ounce can)
  • 1 large bunch of broccoli rabe, stems trimmed, coarsely chopped
  • Hunk of pecorino, Parmesan, or ricotta salata, for grating
Directions
  1. Cook the sausage in a large pot over medium-high heat, breaking up the meat with the back of a spoon, until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage, leaving the fat behind.
  2. Add 3 tablespoons oil and the bread crumbs to the pot; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bread crumbs are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
  3. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until just al dente. Drain, reserving at least 1 cup of the pasta water.
  4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in the pot, then add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s toasted and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it’s a nice brick-red color and starts to stick a bit to the bottom of the pot, 2 to 3 minutes more.
  5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the broccoli rabe, then season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s all wilted and bright green, 3 to 5 minutes.
  6. Add the pasta and chorizo back to the pot along with 1/2 cup of pasta water. Cook, stirring constantly, until each piece of pasta is coated nicely in the tomato-y, chorizo-y sauce.
  7. Serve straight from the pot (or not), with toasted bread crumbs and pecorino for sprinkling over.
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Alison Roman is a cook, writer and author of the bestselling cookbook "Dining In," published by Clarkson Potter in Fall 2017. Her second cookbook "Nothing Fancy," is now available. She is a bi-weekly columnist for the New York Times Cooking section, as well as a monthly contributor to Bon Appétit Magazine. Originally from Los Angeles, she lives in Brooklyn until she decides to move upstate like everyone else.

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7 Reviews

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So S. November 18, 2020
Agree with the other comments--the chorizo was flavorful, but the broccoli rabe was kinda plain. Will add more tomato paste next time and cook the rabe with some red pepper flakes so the flavors are married between the chorizo and the rabe a little better :)
sharskee May 26, 2020
Made this with Beyond Spicy Italian Sausage and it tasted great.
marietta B. May 17, 2020
Very nice recipe and I loved the bread crumbs. But I think it could benefit from more tomato paste and some red pepper flakes.
Cheryl April 22, 2020
I made an error and put waaaaaay to much salt--everywhere! It's still good, but I can't wait to try it again without the overpowering salt. I think I went wrong because I am using a new technique in boiling pasta: use little water and get more starch. But this throws off the ratio of salt: water. Oops! I used vegan chorizo to make a vegan meal.
liliana October 28, 2019
Can I replace brocolli rabe with kale?
kasia S. November 3, 2019
Can't see why not, I even used plain broccoli in one batch, kale sounds great.
kasia S. October 24, 2019
This was really, really good! I made this dish ofter a long day at the office on a Thursday night, as Alison says’s it’s not fancy ( as in hard to make) but it’s dang good eating! I picked up the few things I needed on my way home after finding this recipe on my train ride for work and best of all it’s not expensive, and pretty easy to be honest. A nice riff on a classic Orecchiette with Broccoli rabe and Sausage but extra with the deep tomato paste, and all that garlic...cooking all the ingredients in a few simple stages really enhanced each component, and don't skip making your own bread crumbs, yes I pulled my food processor from it's box and cubed up some 2 day of Baguette, it took less than a minute to make the fresh bread crumbs! Those alone sprinkled on some garlic pasta is a winner ...

This is not a wet, saucy dish but I loved the concentrated spices and flavors that with some pasta water colored the rigatoni a furious, intense rust color and made just enough of a coating to envelop everything.. Another winner from Alison :) I will get fresh chorizo next time, my store only had Italian sausage….can’t wait to make this again.