Sausage & Rapini Pasta with Yoghurt & Wine Sauce

The men in my family absolutely love hot Italian sausages, so I am always looking for new ways to incorporate them. This is a dish I made many moons ago that actually stemmed from an urgency to cook the sausages before they went bad and on a day in which I had very little ingredients on hand.

The addition of the rapini occurred at a later date after I came across Giada De Laurentiis' Orecchiette with Spicy Sausage and Broccoli Rabe, included in her Everyday Italian cookbook. I love the bitterness of rapini, but even for those who may not enjoy that sharp taste; this dish can still be appealing. I've tried making this without the greens and, even those who don't like rapini agree that, it just doesn't taste as good. The bitterness imparts a nice contrast to the creamy pasta and the spicy, salty sausage. My camp picks around the rapini, leaving an otherwise empty bowl.

This recipe can be a little finicky. Take your time. Be sure to do your mise en place. The sausage takes a few minutes per side, so if you have all your ingredients ready to go, you can relax a little. Being organized will help you focus on the cooking.

The staple in this dish is the Italian sausage, everything else can be switched out for something that you prefer or have on hand. 

Enjoy!

Sausage & Rapini Pasta with Yoghurt & Wine Sauce
Created by Shannon Fraser

Serves 2

Preparation Time – 10 Minutes

Cooking Time – 20 Minutes

Ingredients

§  3 Hot Italian Sausages

§  1 Small Onion – small dice

§  1 Head of Rapini

§  225 g Rigatoni

§  ¼ Cup White Wine

§  2 – 3 Tbsp. Plain Yoghurt

§  ¼ to ½ Cup Pasta Water

§  ½ Cup Parmesan Cheese

§  Salt & Pepper

Preparation

1.       Set a large pot of water to boil.  Once boiling, add salt and pasta.  Cook approximately 13 minutes or until al dente.  Add the rapini during the last 2 minutes of cooking.  Drain pasta and rapini, reserving ¾ cup of pasta water.

2.       Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet set over medium heat.  While the pan heats up, remove the casings from the sausages and break the meat up into bite size pieces.  Add the sausage and onion to the skillet and cook until the sausage is browned on all sides and the onions are soft – approximately 10 minutes. 

3.       Deglaze the pan with the white wine.  Simmer until reduced. 

4.       Add the pasta, rapini and some of the pasta water.  Season and add the grated parmesan and simmer for 5 minutes.  Off the heat, add the yoghurt to create a creamy sauce.