Radiatori with Italian Sausage & Rapini
Radiatori tossed with browned Italian sausage and tender rapini in a simple white wine and chicken stock sauce, finished with Parmigiano Reggiano.
Directions
1. Get Everything Ready
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. While the water heats, trim the rapini, dice the garlic, remove the sausage from its casings, and measure the wine and chicken stock.
2. Brown the Sausage
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it into bite-sized pieces, until well browned.
3. Add the Garlic
Add the diced garlic to the browned sausage and cook for about 1 minute, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
4. Deglaze with White Wine
Pour in the white wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release the browned bits, then allow the wine to simmer and reduce slightly.
5. Add the Chicken Stock
Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture back to a gentle simmer.
6. Cook the Pasta While the Rapini Wilts
Drop the radiatori into the boiling pasta water. At the same time, add the trimmed rapini to the sausage mixture and reduce the heat to medium. Cover briefly to help the rapini begin to wilt, then uncover and stir or toss several times so the leaves and stems cook evenly. Cook the radiatori until just shy of al dente.
7. Cook the Rapini Until Tender
Continue stirring the rapini periodically until the stems are tender and the greens have wilted evenly into the sausage mixture.
8. Finish the Pasta in the Pan
Drain the radiatori and add it directly to the pan with the sausage and rapini. Toss thoroughly so the wine and chicken stock mixture coats the pasta and settles into the ridges of the radiatori. Continue cooking briefly until the pasta is al dente and everything is well combined.
9. Taste, Season and Serve
Taste the finished pasta and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed. Remember that the sausage, chicken stock, and Parmigiano Reggiano all contribute salt. Finish generously with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and serve immediately.
Notes
Two bunches of rapini yielded approximately 560 g (1¼ lb) after trimming. Using the trimmed weight gives a much more reliable quantity than bunch size alone.
Hot or mild Italian sausage both work well. Hot sausage gives the dish a little more bite, while mild sausage keeps the flavor more restrained.
The white wine and chicken stock provide enough liquid to finish the radiatori in the pan, so there is no need to reserve pasta water for this recipe.
Paul's Tips
The key to making this dish quickly is timing the pasta and rapini together. Once the sausage, garlic, wine, and chicken stock are ready, drop the radiatori into the boiling water and add the rapini to the sausage pan at about the same time.