Orecchiette with White Beans, Sausage, and Broccoli Rabe

Orecchiette with White Beans, Sausage & Broccoli Rabe

Ingredients

• 1 lb orecchiette

• 6 cloves roasted garlic, mashed into a paste

• 10 cherry tomatoes

• 1 lb Italian sausage (mix hot + sweet), removed from casings and rolled into small meatball-sized pieces

• 1 lb broccoli rabe, rinsed, trimmed, and chopped small

• 2 cups cooked Rancho Gordo Alubia Blanca beans

• 1½ cups good chicken stock (“liquid gold”)

• White wine (for deglazing)

• Balsamic vinegar (to finish)

• Grated Pecorino Romano

Method

1. Brown the sausage (the right way).
Add sausage to a wide pan. Pour in enough water to just cover, season lightly with salt and a pinch of fennel seed, and bring to a boil. Let the water cook off completely until the sausage fat renders and the pieces brown deeply.

2. Deglaze.
Add a splash of white wine, scraping up all the browned bits. Reduce until nearly dry.

3. Build the sauce.
Add the white beans, cherry tomatoes, roasted garlic paste, and chicken stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and let it hang out while you cook the pasta.

4. Cook pasta + greens together.
Drop orecchiette into well-salted boiling water.
With 5 minutes left, add the broccoli rabe directly into the pasta pot.
Reserve 1 cup starchy pasta water, then drain.

5. Marry everything.
Add pasta and broccoli rabe to the sausage-bean mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring well to emulsify the stock and sausage fat. Add splashes of pasta water as needed to create a glossy, clingy sauce.

6. Finish.
Kill the heat. Add grated Pecorino Romano, a small splash of balsamic vinegar, and adjust salt and pepper.

7. Serve immediately.
Extra cheese at the table. No apologies.

Notes from the stove

• The boil-then-brown sausage trick keeps things juicy while still delivering deep flavor.

• Alubia Blanca beans bring creaminess without heaviness—perfect here.

• The balsamic isn’t “Italian-restaurant sweet”—just a quiet acid note that wakes everything up.