Broccoli Sausage Pasta

This recipe from Six Seasons (which is one of my all time favorite cookbooks) was very popular when the Food 52 cookbook club did this book one year, but it took me until now to get around to making it.

For the Pasta

• 8 ounces rigatoni
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage casings removed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 garlic cloves thinly sliced
• 1 pound broccolini stems sliced crosswise into 1/4 inch coins, and tops cut into small florets
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
• 1/2 cup whipped ricotta see below
• About 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs toasted with 2 tablespoons olive oil

For the Ricotta

• 1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and break up with the back of a wooden spoon and cook for roughly 6 minutes until it starts to brown.
• Add the broccoli coins, the remaining olive oil and sliced garlic to the skillet. Toss the sausage and keep cooking until the sausage is just about fully browned and the garlic is fragrant. Add the chili flakes and season with salt and pepper.
• While the sausage is browning, cook the pasta according to the package directions. About 3 minutes before the pasta should be al dente, add the broccoli florets and cook all together, until the pasta is al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water
• Add ½ cup of the reserved pasta cooking water to the skillet with the sausage and return skillet to the heat. Add the drained pasta, the whipped ricotta, and half of the Parmesan. Stir the ingredients in the pan to combine the ingredients, put back over medium heat, and cook for a couple of minutes to warm everything through and make a saucy consistency. Serve with more Parm and top with the breadcrumbs.

To make the Ricotta

• Put the ricotta, salt and plenty of pepper in a food processor and start to process. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a thin stream. Pause and scrape down the sides if needed. The mixture should get lovely and creamy. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper as needed. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.