I wanted to use the broccoli, but did not want to cook them the normal way (i.e., steamed and served with cheese sauce or butter). So, since even cut up they are a bit chunky and string tasting, I decided to match the chunkiness with sausage and orechiette pasta. As for taste, some red peppers, garlic, and cream should balance it nicely (I assumed the cream would work, since there is cream of broccoli soup).
Ingredients from the box:
- 2x heads of broccoli, chopped (stems chopped and separated from the florets)
Ingredients from out of the box:
- 1 lb. spicy Italian sausage
- 2x dried red peppers, chopped.
- 3x cloves of garlic, minced (I used a garlic press).
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 lb. orecchiette pasta (I used De Cecco)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- olive oil
So, here are the steps:
For The Pasta:
- Set 6 quarts of salted water to boil (2 teaspoons of salt).
- Once the water is boiling, cook according to package directions.
For The Sauce:
- Heat a few glugs of olive oil over medium heat. Add the peppers and garlic.
- Cook until the garlic is golden brown. Be careful not burn it.
- Add the sausage to the pan, breaking it up into bite sized pieces. Stir occasionally, until the sausage is browned.
- Add the chopped broccoli stems, stirring occasionally. They are denser than the florets, and take a few more minutes to cook until they are soft.
- Add the florets and the heavy whipping cream. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the broccoli begins to soften and the sauce begins to thicken.
- The pasta should be done about now. Drain in a colander. Dump the pasta back into the pot, pour in the sauce, and stir until the pasta is coated evenly.
- Fill a bowl and enjoy, while it is still warm. Serves between 4 and 6.
Afterthoughts:
I originally thought that the pint of cream would be too much sauce. However, the pasta absorbed a lot of it, making it a much creamier dish in the end, but which still has some kick to it. Still, next time I would probably add a couple more red peppers (1-2) just for some added zing.
Farm to Kitchen to Table 
Holy moly, this looks so good!
I heartily approve of the continued trend in pepper use, I think it speaks to your good taste in food, your thrifty use of materials to hand, and dare I say, your integrity as a human being.
Here I will admit my lack of pasta savvy by asking about the orechiette you used. It is difficult to tell from your pictures how the noodles are shaped (if indeed they can be called noodles, here again I may be exposing my own ignorance) though you say that you used De Cecco which is an easy to find brand, so I get to feeling as though I must have encountered this pasta before. Is there a reason one would use a particular pasta shape in this recipe? It seems as though the chunky shape of the noodles may have nicely complimented the chunkiness of the sausage and the broccoli you described in your post, creating a sort of chunky pasta stew.
I noticed too that your recipe calls for a cream sauce which contains peppers and garlic. Did you do anything else to make this tasty looking sauce? You didn’t, say, add cheese or anything to it? I wonder what the addition of a runny cheese like the a Camembert, or a Brie, or even that Chèvre cheese you put in your Scrambled Egg/ Leek recipe would also make a nice cheesy version of your cream sauce.
One more tiny question. What kind of pepper do you use (I mean black pepper here)? I wonder if larger bits of pepper might be nice in this creamy dish, especially with the sausage.
As far as I am concerned, everything could use a little spice.
As far as the pasta is concerned, they are shaped like “little ears” or like little rimmed domes. That is the best way that I can describe them. Orecchiette is also the type of pasta, in the same way as linguine, tortellini, or ravioli. The De Cecco box that I bought said “orecchiette” right on the front of it, and it was easy to find in the grocery store. As for your lack of pasta savvy, I can think of no better way to fix it then a lesson in fresh, homemade pasta. I may have a holiday post brewing in my head. Maybe my co-authors should come over for a taste?
As for the sauce, I wrote it up as closely as I could to how I cooked it. The cream of the sauce began to thicken as it cooked longer, but all I used were the ingredients listed. If I were to add cheese to it, it would probably be at the end, when I am mixing the sauce with the cooked pasta, and any of those cheeses that you mentioned would melt well and be tasty.
As for black pepper, I buy black peppercorns whole and I have a pepper grinder. I also buy coarse sea salt and have a salt mill as well, so that the salt and pepper in all my dishes are fresh ground.
Of course orecchiette are shaped like “little ears,” I feel I really ought to have known that. There isn’t much Italian in my head but the French for ear is “orielle.” Food etymology is nearly as much fun as the cooking. This co-author and I imagine our third, would indeed like a lesson in making fresh pasta and if a taste-test were involved, so much the better.
I harbor a great love for fresh ground pepper but haven’t ventured yet to grinding salt. It’s the pull of my salt shaker, you see. It’s shaped like a molecule and has “Na Cl” on it. I might be equally as enthralled with my pepper shaker had it not disappeared in the last move, “Pe(Pe)r.”*
*Disclaimer: Please note while “Na Cl” represents a real chemical formula (Sodium Chloride, i.e. table salt), “Pe(Pe)r” does not. This is simply a rather funny chemistry joke. Let it not be said that those educated in the Humanities lack an appreciation for scientific humor.