Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Broccoli Rabe, & Fire Roasted Tomatoes
I get crazy vegetable cravings. This week it’s broccoli rabe. My mom once told my sister, dad, and I that we were each vegetables. I was an eggplant, my sister was a carrot, dad was a parsnip, and my mom was broccoli rabe. This is only funny to us, but it is one of our longest standing family jokes. My mom is very Italian and with her crazy curly hair & funny personality it totally suits that she would describe herself as “broccoli rabe,” or, “arook-i-dee-rahb” as we say it in my family.
This dish is a little spicy, very light, and full of flavor. I normally don’t like pasta without a lot of sauce on it, but this dish is changing my mind about that. For a vegetarian version, swap out the chicken sausage for cannelini beans & you’ll still get a nice serving of protein.
Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Broccoli Rabe, & Fire Roasted Tomatoes
Servings: 6 ● Points Plus: 6
Ingredients:
- 8 oz uncooked small shaped wheat pasta (rotini, shells etc)
- 2 chicken sausage links, any flavor you like (I recommend spinach & feta or sweet Italian)
- 15 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes, drained of juices
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bunch broccoli rabe, trimmed of stems & cut into 2” pieces
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1/4 cup fat free chicken stock (you can omit this if you don’t have any)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 4 lemon wedges
- 4 TB parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. In a large pot, boil water & cook pasta according to instructions. 4 minutes before the pasta is done, add the broccoli rabe to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
3. Remove the sausage from its casing & crumble into pan. Cook until slightly browned. Once browned, add the tomatoes & simmer.
4. When pasta & broccoli rabe are finished, drain & add to the sauce pan. Toss with the sausage & tomatoes. Add the oregano, toss, and serve warm.
5. Garnish each serving with 1 TB parmesan cheese and a lemon wedge to be squeezed over the pasta. This will brighten up the dish.
*Note: This dish would also be great with fresh basil ribbons on top.
