The Cookbook Club Goes to Italy

Joanne Tracey over at Brookford Kitchen Diaries has started up a monthly cookbook club and the rules such as they are are loose enough that it's easy to follow along and participate. I had taken a short hiatus from participating but I could not resist this month's theme-- Italy! 

I love Italian food!  

I got this book from our local library:

 

I did not know Rocco Dispirito but I loved this book. It was filled with family memories and photos and so many delicious looking recipes. 

We ended up picking Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe to make.  

I did have to make a few substitutions. This recipe only serves 4 so I had to double it and I only had penne on hand so we used that. I didn't have enough sausage so my son suggested we use a bit of bacon too and that was delicious! I subbed out broccoli florets for the broccoli rabe and even used garlic scapes in place of the garlic (what can I say; I think of recipes as a guide line!)

Here's what we used and what we did:

1 16 ounce box protein enriched penne pasta

4 cups broccoli fresh broccoli florets; washed and cut into bite sized pieces

2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 garlic scapes

a good sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes

3 sweet Italian sausage links broken into bite sized pieces

1/2 pound of bacon sliced into bite sized pieces

4 cups chicken broth

salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese-- maybe 1/4 cup or so?

In a large pot I boiled water for the pasta; cooking it for just 7 of the 8 minutes the box calls for before adding in the broccoli for that final minute.

While the pasta was cooking I used a large sauce pan and heated up the oil; sauteing the garlic until fragrant then adding in the red pepper flakes. I also added in the sausage and bacon and kept stirring until all the meat was cooked through.

  Once the meat was done I added in the chicken broth and brought it to a boil. Then we tossed in the drained pasta and broccoli. I sprinkled on some salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese then served it. 

 I hadn't been expecting so much broth so we quickly swapped out our plates for bowls. We all agreed it was absolutely delicious and such a nice, light pasta dish for our hot summer weather. 

I was worried about the bacon since it obviously wasn't going to be crispy anymore after being in the broth but it mostly tasted like a really thin sliced ham. You could also cook the bacon on the side and crumble it on top just before serving if you wanted to maintain that crispiness. 

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