Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage, Red Peppers and Brocolli Rabe

I tend to go through phases when I crave a certain food over and over again. My current food crush is spicy Italian sausage. There's a little gourmet grocer around the corner that sells a particularly flavorful sausage, which manages to find its way into my shopping basket at least once each week. I've come up with a recipe that works really well for one person and can easily be multiplied for a dinner with friends.

Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage, Red Pepper and Broccoli Rabe

Ingredients

1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 links of spicy Italian Sausage, cut into bite size pieces
1/3 bunch of broccoli rabe, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups whole wheat fusilli or orecchiette pasta
1/2 cup beef stock
1/4 cup red wine
olive oil
red pepper flakes
salt & pepper

Accompaniment: freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

        In a kettle of boiling salted water cook pasta until al dente. Add the broccoli rabe during the last minute of cooking.

While pasta is cooking, sauté  red pepper and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet over moderate high heat until it starts to soften, approximately 5 minutes. Add sausage, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to the pan and continue to cook until the sausage is no longer pink. Add the beef stock and red wine and cook until liquid reduces to 1/4.

Drain pasta and return to kettle. Add red pepper, sausage and toss.

Serve pasta with Parmesan.    

Comments

[Adam]

I've tried this dish (courtesy of the blogger himself), and I can attest that this dish rocks. It's filling without being greasy, spicy without being painful, and comforting without being bland. Please, Unrefined Hedonist, I want more!