Orecchiette with Hearty Greens & Sausage
serves 4
printable version
1 regular onion, sliced
4 hot Italian sausages, casings removed (or a little less than a pound of bulk sausage)
4 cups (2 big handfuls) hearty greens like Kale or Chard, rinsed and cut into small pieces (sometimes you can find "braising mix" in the grocery store and that would be perfect)
1 pound Orecchiette, or other short pasta like Penne
plenty of grated Parmesan cheese
- Put a pot of water on for the pasta.
- In a large pan, saute the onions in a few tablespoons of olive oil (over medium heat, so they brown but don't burn), stirring often. When most of the edges are beginning to brown, add the garlic and saute that until it starts to brown.
- Add the sausage to the onions and garlic, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. If the sausage is cooked through before the pasta is in the water, turn off the heat and set it aside.
- When the pasta has about 5 minutes left to cook, add the greens to the pan (if you took it off the heat, turn it back on when the pasta goes in the water). Cook the greens while the pasta finishes.
- Drain the pasta and toss it with the sausage mixture.
- Serve sprinkled generously with salt, pepper, and grated Parm.