Orecchiette and spicy Italian sausage

[chopsaw]

My Son brought home a box of Orecchiette pasta ( little ears ) . A lot of the pasta shapes have a specific way it's cooked , so I did some searching around . Settled on one that cooks it all in the same pan .
Been buying this brand of sausage when it's on sale . It's good , but pretty pricey .

Used my 1968 Revere ware 12 " skillet . Started with 1 large onion .
I would normally brown the sausage first , but I'm following this method .

Missed a few pics at the start , but when the onions get a hint of browning , you add the sausage and brown that off .
Don't drain the fat , and add some chicken stock . I had just made stock from some thigh bones , celery and onions .
Get the stock simmering , and add the pasta raw .

From this point forward , it's constant stirring . As the stock boils away ,
you add more and keep stirring . Increase or decrease the heat as needed .
As the pasta cooks , the starch will thinken the stock .
Pasta still needs some time here .

Pasta starts to get " To the tooth " , pretty close right here .

The recipie called for Broccoli rabe . I used fresh chopped spinach .
Add that in ,

Give a stir , and let that start to cook down . Pasta is perfect , and the sauce is
nice and thick .

Time to add the cheese . I used fresh grated parm . Pecorino would be
great too , but I was following the recipe I had .

Stir in the cheese , and " whip " it up to get some air in the sauce .
Nice and creamy . Leaving the fat in the pan , and the starch from the
pasta work together to make a fantastic sauce .

I also baked off some sourdough that morning .
500 grams of AP flour . Split the batch and baked as 2 .

Bread sliced up . Perfect . Nice crust , great chew .

Plated up in the " bowl plates " . Pfaltzgraff 1989 wedding gift .


This is an experience in the world of pasta dishes .
All the flavors are in the dish . Nothing drained , and all
cooked together .

I used a pound of pasta , and a pound of sausage . Ended up using 2 quarts of homemade stock .
That's what it took to cook the pasta , and make the volume of sauce I wanted . It was a big pot
of pasta , but it went fast . Not much talking going on at the table , to busy eating .
Thanks for lookin' .

 

[JLinza]

That looks fantastic, definitely gonna give this a try

 

[chopsaw]

definitely gonna give this a try

It's good . Use a small pasta shape , like the ears or Ditalini works good too .
Thanks for the comment .

 

[Steve H]

That looks great Rich! I'll be giving this a try!

 

[Jim_C]

Nice looking dinner. The bread looks amazing.

Orecchiette and sausage is one of our favorite meals. A great one pan dish. We like how the pasta shape holds the sauce. We often throw a bunch of Swiss chard in. The problem is the two of us eat a lot more of it than we should.

 

[zwiller]

WOW. I'd kill that! When people say italian food everyone thinks red sauce and meatballs but not me, this is what I think of. I am seeing some people online call this style of cooking "roman". No fat drain and starch from pasta is adding to it but the stock is the magic in that.

 

[chopsaw]

That looks great Rich! I'll be giving this a try!

Thanks bud . My Son is a master at sauce making . His alfredo is top shelf , then he started doing these pasta cooked in the sauce types . I got on him for the pasta being under done . I now know , it's not that easy .
He does a French onion pasta that uses French onion soup profile , ground beef , and Ditalini pasta .
It's killer in the winter time .

 

[chopsaw]

Nice looking dinner. The bread looks amazing.

Thanks Jim . You know , I get lacking on some things I do a lot . Did a re-group on the bread .
It was worth it . That's some of the best I've made . It was all in the same day . I normally mix it up and hold in the fridge ( I have 2 in there now ) then bake throughout the week . Comes out better like this .

Orecchiette and sausage is one of our favorite meals. A great one pan dish. We like how the pasta shape holds the sauce. We often throw a bunch of Swiss chard in.

Nice . Yeah , looks like you can use any greens you like . Yup , it's a great shape for this .
I know there's variations to it , like cream and tomato in the stock . What version do you make ?

WOW. I'd kill that!

Yeah , we did . It came out perfect . I leave the Alfredo to Ryan , because mine always breaks .
I'll do this again though .

No fat drain and starch from pasta is adding to it but the stock is the magic in that.

Comes out like a creamy gravy . All kinds of options here .
Thanks for lookin .

 

[forktender]

My Son brought home a box of Orecchiette pasta ( little ears ) . A lot of the pasta shapes have a specific way it's cooked , so I did some searching around . Settled on one that cooks it all in the same pan .
Been buying this brand of sausage when it's on sale . It's good , but pretty pricey .
View attachment 736004
Used my 1968 Revere ware 12 " skillet . Started with 1 large onion .
I would normally brown the sausage first , but I'm following this method .
View attachment 736006
Missed a few pics at the start , but when the onions get a hint of browning , you add the sausage and brown that off .
Don't drain the fat , and add some chicken stock . I had just made stock from some thigh bones , celery and onions .
Get the stock simmering , and add the pasta raw .
View attachment 736007
From this point forward , it's constant stirring . As the stock boils away ,
you add more and keep stirring . Increase or decrease the heat as needed .
As the pasta cooks , the starch will thinken the stock .
Pasta still needs some time here .
View attachment 736008
Pasta starts to get " To the tooth " , pretty close right here .
View attachment 736009
The recipie called for Broccoli rabe . I used fresh chopped spinach .
Add that in ,
View attachment 736010
Give a stir , and let that start to cook down . Pasta is perfect , and the sauce is
nice and thick .
View attachment 736011
Time to add the cheese . I used fresh grated parm . Pecorino would be
great too , but I was following the recipe I had .
View attachment 736012
Stir in the cheese , and " whip " it up to get some air in the sauce .
Nice and creamy . Leaving the fat in the pan , and the starch from the
pasta work together to make a fantastic sauce .
View attachment 736013
I also baked off some sourdough that morning .
500 grams of AP flour . Split the batch and baked as 2 .
View attachment 736003
Bread sliced up . Perfect . Nice crust , great chew .
View attachment 736014
Plated up in the " bowl plates " . Pfaltzgraff 1989 wedding gift .

View attachment 736015
This is an experience in the world of pasta dishes .
All the flavors are in the dish . Nothing drained , and all
cooked together .
View attachment 736016
I used a pound of pasta , and a pound of sausage . Ended up using 2 quarts of homemade stock .
That's what it took to cook the pasta , and make the volume of sauce I wanted . It was a big pot
of pasta , but it went fast . Not much talking going on at the table , to busy eating .
Thanks for lookin' .

Perfect meal Goombah!!!
I can vividly remember sitting at the kitchen table drinking a glass of Gramp's homemade Dego red wine. All the while eating fresh/ hot out of the oven semolina bread. While making mountains of fresh homemade Orecchiette. Working off of a big dough ball my Noni made the night before. We would dry old ravioli boxes full of the Orecchiette to give to family members, and close friends.
I can still hear my Noni yelling at us, "its'ah too big", meaning that we needed to make the pasta smaller. We'd roll out a log of dough then cut the log into pieces using the edge of a tablespoon about 1/2'' to 3/8ths'' long, then roll the dough under the palm of your hand into little balls about the size of a marble. Then press and roll the balls out under your thumb in one quick motion to make little cupped pasta called Orecchiette/ little ears.
Noni would always wipe up some fresh Pesto to make us some pasta verde/ green pasta that was loaded with freshly grated pecorino romano cheese/ and I mean a lot of cheese, like 2 to 3 cups went into the pan of hot pasta verde. Then it was topped with toasted pinoli/ pin nuts, and toasted fennel seeds, and a lot of cracked black pepper, then served in big flat pasta bowls.

Man those were the happiest days of my life.

Rich, you should've been someone's Noni, your dishes always look perfect, like someone's Noni cooked them with love in their heart.
Kill'er job with that meal, Goombah!!!

Manga, manga!!!
Awesome job, serving it with freshly made S.D bread, and red wine.
Dan.

PS. I still can't bake bread for $h!t!!!
It always turns out way too dense.

 

[forktender]

Thanks bud . My Son is a master at sauce making . His alfredo is top shelf , then he started doing these pasta cooked in the sauce types . I got on him for the pasta being under done . I now know , it's not that easy .
He does a French onion pasta that uses French onion soup profile , ground beef , and Ditalini pasta .
It's killer in the winter time .

Most people overcook their Pasta, the way my family, and friends of family make pasta its cook until its right before al dente, then sauced. The pasta still has a little crunch to each bite.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Man I would be all over that! Looks incredible.

 

[sawhorseray]

NICE WORK RICH! I'LL GIVE THIS A SHOT WHEN WE GET MOVED TO TEXAS, CAN'T COOK ANYTHING UNTIL THEN, ALL POTS AND PANS PACKED, NOT ALLOWED TO USE THE STOVE OR OVEN. ALL COOKING NEEDS TO BE DONE ON THE KETTLE OR PATIO FLAT TOP TILL THE MOVE.

 

[Jim_C]

Nice . Yeah , looks like you can use any greens you like . Yup , it's a great shape for this .
I know there's variations to it , like cream and tomato in the stock . What version do you make ?

We make ours the same way you do. Onion, garlic, Italian sausage, Orecchiette, chicken stock, vegetable, Parmesan.

We'll sometimes finish it off with a couple of tabs of butter. I also like to add a good pinch of freshly ground pepper because it goes so well with sausage.

As for vegetables we usually make it with Swiss chard or zucchini. We've made it with blanched cauliflower, which is also good.

The real key is a well made Orecchiette. We try to buy the artisan brands. They are usually thicker and more toothy than the commercial brands.

 

[indaswamp]

You are pulling at my heart strings Rich! That looks fabulous! And you are right about leaving the fat in...makes for a very rich sauce indeed!

 

[forktender]

We make ours the same way you do. Onion, garlic, Italian sausage, Orecchiette, chicken stock, vegetable, Parmesan.

We'll sometimes finish it off with a couple of tabs of butter. I also like to add a good pinch of freshly ground pepper because it goes so well with sausage.

As for vegetables we usually make it with Swiss chard or zucchini. We've made it with blanched cauliflower, which is also good.

The real key is a well made Orecchiette. We try to buy the artisan brands. They are usually thicker and more toothy than the commercial brands.

Jim, that sounds really good as well.
You should try making the pasta at least once. It's super easy, and it turns out great.

 

[chopsaw]

Perfect meal

Thanks Dan . I thought you would like it . Love the family history . I was watching a video on making the pasta . They did it like you , but used a knife . I might try it .

Rich, you should've been someone's Noni,

Lol . At some point it all made more sense . Like if you're having Ziti , it means more than the shape of the pasta .

Man I would be all over that! Looks incredible.

Thanks Brian . It went fast . I'll do it again here pretty soon .

NICE WORK RICH!

Thanks Ray . It's a good one . Get settled in and give it a shot . You can also par boil the pasta .

 

[chopsaw]

We try to buy the artisan brands. They are usually thicker and more toothy than the commercial brands.

We started buying the bronze cut . We have some high end pasta on the shelf , then cheaper brands for some stuff .
This is what I used for this dish .

 

[jcam222]

Damn Rich that looks delicious! That might just get me to have a bite or two of carbs!! That Calabrian pepper / fennel spiced sausage sounds amazing! What store?

 

[forktender]

Thanks Dan . I thought you would like it . Love the family history . I was watching a video on making the pasta . They did it like you , but used a knife . I might try it .

Lol . At some point it all made more sense . Like if you're having Ziti , it means more than the shape of the pasta .


Thanks Brian . It went fast . I'll do it again here pretty soon .

Thanks Ray . It's a good one . Get settled in and give it a shot . You can also par boil the pasta .

Rich, if you try to make it, roll it out into one long noodle/ weenie, then cut them into the size you like. Then roll it under your hand to form little balls, once you do that, take a ball press your thumb about into it and in one quick motion press and roll it out from under your thumb.
Have you ever watched "The Pasta Queen" videos on Prime?
There is one episode I think it was season 1 Eps 1 where she goes to Puglia and makes Orecchiette with older lady on the streets, watch it, and watch how fast the blonde woman rolls through making the pasta.
That totally reminds me of watching my Noni make pasta.
Zero thought, complete muscle memory from making it thousands of times. My Noni's hands were crippled from working so many yrs with arthritis, and she still rolled through making pasta and kneading dough with her hands, like it was nothing, it was completely impressive.
The Pasta Queen couple be my Cousin Francesca's long-lost twin sister, they look and sound exactly the same. LOL!!!

If you haven't, checked out the Pasta Queen video's on Prime. She is very easy on the eye's, and she cooks like my Noni, Mom, and Auntie's used to. I try to emulate them, but in all honesty, I suck as a cook compared to them. I do ok, but it's not at the same level by any means.

 

[chopsaw]

That looks fabulous! And you are right about leaving the fat in..

Thanks Keith . You always see these places on triple D and shows like that , that never drain the fat . Makes sense here , because of the starch . In things like chili to much just floats on top . That never makes sense to me .

Damn Rich that looks delicious!

Thanks Jeff . Appreciate that .

That Calabrian pepper / fennel spiced sausage sounds amazing! What store?

I got that at a local family owned grocery chain . I think they dropped it now , because it's pricey .
I only bought it on sale . Normal price is around 12 bucks a pound , I got these on a BOGO .
This is the website .

Lottie’s Meats | All Natural Pork Sausages

Discover chef-crafted pork sausages - bratwursts and ground pork blends - and unique recipes from Lottie’s Meats. Sister-owned and operated. Shipping nationwide or find us in stores near you!

www.lottiesmeats.com

I'll add jarred Calabrian peppers to my normal sweet sausage . Works out good .