Orecchiette with Chicken Sausage, White Beans & Rapini is light and flavorful and sure to be your next weeknight meal!
With memories of his baby blue pinstriped shirt, faded Levis, cowboy boots and Polo, and back to the location where Cupid’s arrow got. me. good., we celebrated a milestone wedding anniversary in idyll fashion.
To commemorate our 30th, we went back to the place where it all began. Back to the campus that generously unbolted memories of a sunny September afternoon in Buffalo, New York, where the first-day-of-the-rest-of-our-lives took place.
Back to the city where the universe, unbeknownst to us, quietly designed a wedding, and proceeded to sit tight for another four years before cashing in on said design. (Thanks for your patience, Universe!)
Buffalo hit all the right notes. Not only did it unleash some sweet memories, it maintained, after all these years, streets and (some) restaurants that we had frequented as co-eds. The Anchor Bar, with its original Buffalo wings, is still hoppin’ and serving up the same great chicken wings and our long-time favorite garlic pizza.
We roamed the very street that we frequented during college, artsy Elmwood Ave, and enjoyed a couple of meals that we won’t soon forget.
This Orecchiette with Chicken Sausage, White Beans & Rapini was not one of them (hahahahah!). Here is the deal – it came down to this, or Osso Buco, and although it was a difficult decision, the Osso Buco won. Mostly because I knew I could easily whip this up once we got home (and the Osso Buco, not so easily). 😉 (Does this surprise anyone?)
So what is included in this incredible dish which I’ve adorned with white baby’s breath? (You know, as a nod to the anniversary….)
- Orecchiette pasta….cute little pasta that looks like a baby’s ear 🙂
- Super sweet cherry tomatoes
- Rapini aka broccoli rabe
- White beans – you can use cannellini or great northern
- Hot chicken sausage
- Red pepper flakes
- Parmigiano-Reggiano
Whether you serve it warm from the stovetop or chilled for a tasty summer salad….you will love this stunner of a dish!
And it makes for one lovely lovely lovely romantic dinner! <3
Buon Appetito!
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Orecchiette with Chicken Sausage, White Beans & Rapini
- Category: Pasta
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Orecchiette with Chicken Sausage, White Beans & Rapini is light and flavorful and sure to be your next weeknight meal!
Ingredients
- 1 pound hot chicken sausage links
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 1 pound orecchiette
- 2 pounds rapini, trimmed and washed
- 15.5 oz. white beans (cannellini, great northern)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 – 2 Tbsp. red pepper flakes, to taste
- Parmigiano-Reggiano
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, drizzle about 1 tablespoon olive oil and add sausage links.
- Cook until the internal temperature reads 160 F. Let cool, then slice into medallions. Place back into the sauté pan.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the rapini and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
- Remove with a slotted spoon, drain thoroughly and chop into bite-sized pieces. Add to the pan with the sausage along with the white beans and cherry tomatoes.
- Drizzle two tablespoons olive oil over the sausage mixture with red pepper flakes and cook until the tomatoes just begin to burst.
- In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the orecchiette and cook according to package directions until al dente.
- When the pasta is done, drain and add to the sauté pan.
- Stir gently.
- Top with Parmigiano, and an extra drizzle of olive oil.
CIAO!
30 years! Happy, Happy Anniversary! It sounds like you had a wonderful time celebrating!
You know I love your pasta dishes and this one has so many textures and flavors. Love your list of swap ins – the kind of dish that can be a little different every time you prepare it.
Thanks, friend! Yes – this is my kind of dish for that very reason! 🙂
As soon as I looked at these photos, I instantly got hungry! Looks amazing.
Thanks, Kev!
Yum!
Thank you!
How easy is this Annie?! And it looks nice and hearty! Happy Anniversary and many more to come!! XO
Doesn’t get much easier! 🙂 Thank you, my friend! XO
You made my stomach growl! I should not have looked at this before lunch 😉 Love that you’ve used chicken sausage!!
Awhhh – sorry about that…not sorry! 😉 Thanks, friend!
Such sweet memories in NY and blink, 30 years later. It goes SO fast! Happy Anniversary Annie. I love having a recip that can transport our memories. So sweet!
Yep! A blink of an eye! Thank you, Traci! xo
Cupid definitely had the arrow sharpened in Buffalo, because he took down a heavyweight wrestler!
Here’s looking forward to the next 30 years!!!
Love you Beauty!!!
Cupid is quite the marksman…such precision! Love my heavyweight wrestler!! 30 more years and then some, my love!
The stars have aligned for me with this recipe, lol. Not like yours did thirty years ago (such an amazing recount by the way) but I just bought orecchiette imported from Italy on Saturday and was planning on making some this week:) Love brocollini too:) Beautiful dish and beautiful post!
Don’t you just love it when the stars do that?!!! Thank you, my friend! 🙂
Happy anniversary! I’m glad you had such a wonderful trip to Buffalo. And this orecchiette sounds delicious! I love white beans!
Thanks, Kelsie! 🙂
Happy anniversary my sweet friend!!! Sounds like you celebrated a huge milestone in beautiful fashion! I have family in buffalo and I’ve been to the anchor bar! Anyways, this Orecchiette looks magnificent!! Definitely a must try! Pinning! xoxo
Thank you, doll! We really had a very sweet time. It’s so incredible how thirty years just seemed to evaporate when back to our original stomping ground…. If you ever get back to Buffalo, let me know! xoxo
Congratulations, Annie! What a lovely story and how wonderful that you returned back to the beginning! This pasta dish looks lovely and worthy of any celebration!
Thank you, Kathy! It just hit me one day – I wanted to go back to the place where it truly all began! It was very special! 🙂
So sweet!! You paint quite the beautiful picture, as always. What a beautiful and hearty meal! And baby’s breath? Nice touch! Happy Monday, my friend 🙂 Happy anniversary!!! XOXO
Thank you, dear! The flavors are perfetto! 🙂 Have a lovely day!! XOXO
Such a lovely dish and love that it can be served warm or cold, as well! Loved your story of returning to Buffalo. As typical Ontario residents, we shuffle off to Buffalo on a regular basis. I’ve always loved the city (and the American shopping 😉
Ahhhh! Maybe we can shuffle off at the same time! Would love that! Thank you, my friend!
Loved the story! Happy Anniversary and many many more. The recipe sounds and looks delicious. It’s breakfast time and your recipe is making me hungry for pasta and chicken sausage with white beans and rapini!!
Thank you, friend! Like my guy…this recipe’s a keeper! 😉