BA's Best Orecchiette With Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Unlike many iconic Italian recipes, this luxurious union of silky broccoli rabe, chile-flecked sausage, garlic, and curvaceous pasta is a weeknight hero. You can make it start to finish, in about 30 minutes. The key to successful execution is to go way beyond blanching when it comes to precooking the broccoli rabe in boiling salted water. For tender rabe that melds seamlessly with pasta and sausage, start by separating the thick stems from the rest of the stalks and giving them a head start before adding the rest. It removes any unpleasant bitterness and also means the rabe will cook into the saucy base of browned sausage and sweated garlic in just minutes.While orecchiette is the traditional pasta choice, any short pasta will work. Sausage has become a popular addition to the true original Pugliese dish of stewed broccoli rabe with pasta, but a tin of anchovies makes a great substitute for added oomph and intensity.This recipe is one of BA’s Best, our vault of the Test Kitchen's definitive takes on iconic dishes.