Broccoli pasta with sausage and Parmesan
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Broccoli pasta with sausage and Parmesan is an easy weeknight dinner and a great way to get more broccoli into your kids!
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 medium head of broccoli, cut into florets, stalk cut into bite-sized pieces
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 links fresh sweet Italian sausage
  • ½ pound gemelli
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • ¾ cup Parmesan, finely grated, plus more for serving
  • Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook broccoli until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer broccoli to a colander to cool. Reserve water to cook pasta. When cool, chop broccoli into small pieces; set aside.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Squeeze the sausage out of its casing and add to pan, using a spoon to break it into small pieces. Cook until the sausage starts to brown and is cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes.
  3. Bring pot of water back to a boil and cook pasta until al dente (about 2 minutes less than package instructions - it will cook more with the sauce).
  4. While the pasta cooks, add the broccoli to the pan with the sausage. Add about ½ cup of the pasta water and bring to a low simmer.
  5. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pasta to the pan with the sausage and broccoli. Add another ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Cook until pasta is cooked through, stirring frequently.
  6. Add butter and stir until melted. Stir in Parmesan until sauce thickens and pasta is well-coated.
  7. To serve, garnish with extra Parmesan and sprinkle with crushed red pepper if desired.
Recipe by white plate blank slate at https://whiteplateblankslate.com/broccoli-pasta/