Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Sundried Tomatoes, and Chicken Sausage

Brit found this recipe in one of her food blogs she follows through Google Reader. It looked very light, healthy, and delicious and was perfect for our Thanksgiving recovery week recipes. We decided to throw in some chicken sausage to make the dish a more complete meal and ultimately threw in some more last minute additions which really helped with the flavor. This is a definite repeat meal and will probably show up again in our rotation fairly soon.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Sundried Tomatoes, and Chicken Sausage
(Adapted and modified from a recipe publised on SimpleRecipes.com)


Serves 4


1 lb. broccoli rabe, cut into 1 inch slices
1/2 lb. penne pasta
1 onion, chopped (a new addition of ours to the recipe)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes (adjust depending on how much heat you want)
1 package chicken sausage, sliced (we used the sundried tomato kind from TJs)
2 oz sun dried tomatoes, chopped
Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp goat cheese (a last second addition)
1-2 tbsp mozarella cheese, diced (another last second addition)
Salt
Pepper

In a medium pot of boiling water, blanch the broccoli rabe for 1 minute. Immediately transfer to an ice bath (I drained it first in a colander instead of trying to scoop it out with a slotted spoon) to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

In a large pot of oiled and salted boiling water, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and return to the pot.

Once the pasta starts cooking, saute the onion in a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until translucent and then mix in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for a minute or two, while stirring, and then add in the sliced chicken sausage. Brown the chicken sausage for a few minutes and then add in the blanched broccoli rabe. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the broccoli rabe is tender, and then stir in the sundried tomatoes. We had completely dry sundried tomatoes from TJs, but the kind preserved in oil would be best. Season everything with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the veggie mix to the pot of cooked and drained pasta. Mix everything well together. At this point we decided to mix in some extra goat cheese we had lying around. Once well mixed (and this took a bit of effort) we scooped our servings into some bowls and garnished with parmesan cheese. I then decided to additionally garnish my bowl with some cubed pieces of mozarrella cheese.

The addition of the onion, chicken sausage, and goat cheese were awesome. Brit and I both agree that this dish would have been bland and boring without them. Also, I really enjoyed the mozarella cheese in my bowl, but it wasn't necessary.