Seasonal Eating: Broccoli Rabe

One of my favorite dishes as a child was spaghetti with spicy Italian sausage, peppers and onions. Made with pork sausage, the dish can be a bit heavy and since the peppers and onions are mostly water and shrink during cooking, I feel like I’m not getting enough vegetables in the meal.

This is my grown-up version of that childhood favorite. I make healthy substitutions, using whole wheat pasta instead of regular, turkey sausage instead of pork, and adding a large serving of broccoli rabe to the mix.

I sourced  my spicy turkey sausage from DiPaola Turkey Farm, a local grower. If you can’t find local turkey, a chicken sausage would be a great substitution.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon red chili pepper flake
• 1 pound spicy turkey sausage
• 1 cup crushed tomato
• 1 large bunch of broccoli rabe, rinsed and chopped
• 1 pound whole wheat, thick ribbon pasta such as fettuccine or pappardelle
• salt, pepper

Put on a large pot of salted water to boil.

In the meantime, add the olive oil to a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, and red pepper flake to the olive oil, stirring until soft (about 4-5 minutes). To the pan add the sausage, breaking it up as you stir. Once nearly all the sausage is browned, add the crushed tomato and reduce the heat to medium.

Once the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook to taste. Add the broccoli rabe to the pan of sausage and stir in cook for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Combine pasta with the meat sauce, and serve right away.