If you are looking for a fresh, light, and flavorful weeknight pasta recipe, this Ricotta Cavatelli with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe delivers every time. Created in partnership with J Squared Eatz, this dish brings together tender homemade cavatelli, Bianco & Sons Broccoli Rabe, Cheese and Garlic Italian Sausage, and garlicky sautéed greens in a simple pan sauce that coats every bite.
It is the perfect balance of rich and bright, with a little heat from Calabrian chili and a fresh finish from lemon and pecorino. Easy enough for a weeknight dinner but elevated enough to feel like a restaurant quality pasta made right at home.
Prep Time: 25-30 minutes | Cook Time: 10-15 minutes | Total Time: 35-45 minutes
Serves: 2-4
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Bianco & Sons Broccoli Rabe, Cheese and Garlic Sausage Links, Uncased
- ½ Bunch of broccoli rabe, blanched and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 Garlic cloves, sliced thin on a mandoline
- 2 TSP Calabrian chili
- ½ Cup white wine
- 3 TBSP cold unsalted butter
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- ½ Cup Pecorino Romano, grated
Ricotta Cavetelli Pasta Dough
- 2 Cups AP flour
- 1 Cup whole milk ricotta, partially drained
- 1 Large egg
- 1 Pinch kosher salt
METHOD
- Add 2 cups of AP flour to your bench or countertop and make a well in the middle. Add your whole egg, ricotta and salt to the middle of the well.
- Mix egg and ricotta filling with a fork until combined. Slowly start to incorporate flour by running your fork around the edges of the well, adding a little at a time until it forms shaggy dough.
- Knead for 5 to 6 minutes until most of the flour is absorbed and a dough ball has formed. Pro tip, if your dough is a little dry, add a small amount of water a little at a time until you get a perfect consistency. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Blanch your broccoli rabe in a pot with boiling salted water for 1 minute. Do not cook for any longer or it will become mushy. Drain on a sheet pan lined with a clean kitchen towel. Let cool in fridge and then cut into 1 inch pieces, set aside.
- Cut the pasta dough into small portions and roll out into a 1/2 inch diameter rope, working with 1 portion at a time. Cover unused pasta when not working with it.
- Feed pasta rope into a cavatelli machine until cavatelli is formed, dust with a light sprinkle of flour to keep from sticking. Repeat process with remaining dough. When all the cavatelli is formed place on a sheet pan and let chill in fridge until you are ready to cook. If you do not have a cavatelli machine, cut rope into 1 inch pieces and use a fork to create ridges.
- Remove sausage from casing and break up into 1/2 inch pieces and add into a sauté pan with EVOO on low heat, allow sausage to render and brown. Remove sausage when cooked through with a slotted spoon or spatula.
- Bring the residual sausage fat to medium heat and add garlic and Calabrian chili to pan. Sauté for about 1 to 2 minutes until garlic is fragrant but not browned.
- Bring a separate pot of salted water to a boil.
- Deglaze with white wine and scrape up any bits of fond in the pan. Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Allow wine to reduce by half, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add cavatelli to boiling water and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Using a spider or slotted spoon, transfer cavatelli to the sauté pan.
- Add sausage, broccoli rabe and a small ladle of pasta water to the sauté pan. Toss pasta until coated.
- Add butter, lemon zest and pecorino cheese off heat. Toss again until glossy.
TO SERVE
- Top with more pecorino cheese as desired
- Mangia!