SK week 44 | Baked Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

Never one to say no to a new pasta recipe, I knew I wanted to give this one a try from day one. For some reason, the broccoli rabe part of it made me keep pushing it off. Which is ironic because I couldn't find broccoli rabe and ended up just using broccoli. :) I greatly underestimated how much time everything would take, but it was all so worth it!

(Here's the Smitten Kitchen post)

You'll need:
1 pound chunky pasta of your choice (I love the one Deb used--unfortunately GF pasta is a little more limited in its shapes)
1 bunch broccoli rabe (or broccolini or broccoli), chopped
1 pound Italian sausage (casings removed if you're using links)
2/3 cup parmesan cheese
6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
2 cups whole milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook your pasta. Deb doesn't mention this, but I did cook it pretty al dente since I knew it would cook more when it baked. For the last few minutes, throw the broccoli in too. (All together, I cooked my pasta for 8 minutes and broccoli for 3). When it's (almost) done, drain and put in a bowl.

While the pasta and broccoli are cooking, brown the sausage. When it's cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and drain while you make the sauce.

Add the butter to the sausage drippings. Once it's melted, sprinkle in the flour and mix. It will bubble for a little bit--you want to cook the flour taste out. Just keep stirring.

Slowly whisk in the milk so that there are no lumps. Continue whisking until all milk has been added. Add the salt, pepper, and garlic and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.

Mix together the pasta, broccoli, sausage, mozzarella, half the parmesan, and sauce.

Spoon into a baking dish and top with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes. The top will get all toasty and crunchy.  :)

I took a picture of Jack's because he had a good bit of the crusty top. Don't worry, he got seconds and possibly thirds. ;)

Verdict: Definitely a winner. I will say, Deb mentions that it's a pretty dry recipe and if you want it more saucy to 1 1/2 the recipe for the bechamel. I'm SO glad I did. It was the perfect amount of gooey and delicious and it definitely would have been too dry (for us) as written. Anyway, this will definitely end up in our pasta rotation!