Monday, October 27, 2008

Campanelle with Rabe and Fennel Sausage

campanelle w rabe

Tonight we whipped together a relatively quick meal inspired by David Tanis' marvelous cookbook A Platter of Figs, which I've raved about previously. In his "winter" menu, he bakes orecchiette with broccoli rabe (rapini) and homemade fennel sausage, and below is our spin. We've followed a number of his methods, with the largest differences being that he makes his fennel sausage (without casings) in a separate process, and we also added a touch of chicken broth to keep the dish from being too dry (which we felt it was on first attempt).

6 or 8 servings

1 lb dried campanelle pasta
1 lb brocolli rabe, washed
1 lb ground pork
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (hot), plus a pinch
1 tsp salt, plus a pinch
1 tsp chopped rosemary
unsalted butter
1/4 lb ricotta
1/3 cup chicken broth
pecorino cheese

Boil the pasta until very al dente in salted water, then remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place on a large baking sheet to cool, drizzling some olive oil on top. Bring the water back to a boil and blanch the broccoli rabe for a minute, then drain in a collander and let cool.

Pre-heat oven to 400F

With a mortar and pestle, crush the fennel seeds and 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes. In a large saute pan, warm a little olive oil on medium heat, then begin to brown the ground pork, using your spatula to break it into smaller pieces. Stir in the fennel and red pepper flakes from the mortar, and add half the minced garlic and a tsp of salt. Stir together well and when the pork is browned, remove from the pan, drain any excess fat, and set aside.

Roughly chop the broccoli rabe. Then, add a little more olive oil to the saute pan, set it over medium heat, and add the remainder of the minced garlic. Fairly quickly, because you do not want to brown the garlic, add the chopped broccoli rabe, the rosemary, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Stir everything together and turn off the heat.

Combine the pasta, sausage, and broccoli rabe, and chicken broth in a large bowl and gently stir together. Add the ricotta, in small pieces, and stir that in. (Note: we used store bought ricotta, but we really want to make our own)

Butter a baking dish, and fill it with the pasta. Depending on the size of your baking dish, you may need to use two. Sprinkle a little pecorino cheese on top. At this point it will look like the below picture:

campanelle w rabe


Cover the baking dish and place in the oven for 15 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for 5 more minutes. Serve with some additional pecorino cheese grated on top or on the side.


rosemary

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a heart-warming recipe Giff! It's just perfect for when the weather gets a little cooler. I'm drooling just reading the ingredients.

Any leftovers for me? :-)

Giff said...

Lots of leftovers! Should be a good lunch tomorrow. Believe it or not, we halved Tanis' recipe amounts!

ChichaJo said...

This looks like something I would so enjoy! I am still trying to get my hubby to explore beyond tomato based pastas!

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

There must be something in the autumn air - I made a pasta dish with roasted eggplant last night. These kinds of dishes really soothe the soul! Now, I really have to check out that cookbook ...

Stacey Snacks said...

Giff,
Looks beautiful.
I have been making this dish for years, used to be cavatelli w/ broccoli and sausage, but the cavatelli was too heavy, so I do farfalle now.
Sometimes I add raisins and anchovies to give it a zing!
Great Sunday food.

Giff said...

thanks chichajo and TW

@Stacey I figured this was a classic for you. Lisl and I always order this in restaurants. I was glad to finally make a go of making it at home.

kat said...

Oh this sounds wonderful! It reminds me a bit of the pasta, sausage & broccoli that we like so much without the tomatoes. I want to try this take on it now

Ivy said...

I been using fennel seeds a lot lately but never in a pasta dish. This is a "must try" recipe.

Maria said...

Campanelle is one of my favorite pastas and broccoli rabe is my utmost favorite vegetable. Love, love, love this dish. I always just toss the sauteed broccoli rabe and browned sausage with some pasta, but will have to look into this recipe ASAP!

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

Looks phenomenal! Have to try this soon.

Anonymous said...

Looks great! I really need to get my hands on that book. I have been hearing (reading) about it a lot.

Jo said...

Wow, this pasta dish looks so yummy. I wish I was having some now.