So we’ve talked about magic of smoky breadcrumbs. We’ve talked about the high octane impact of sorrel pesto. If you weren’t sold on the endless and vague possibilities of either one, here is a specific reason you should make them…it’s this pasta!!!!
Maybe this pasta looks like it has a lot going on, but if you make your breadcrumbs and pesto ahead it’s really pretty easy. Even if you don’t, neither of those things take very long to make.
Before you get to the recipe just remember the order of events: first put your roasting veggies in the oven, then start heating up your pasta water, then start cooking all the other things in your pan. It’s all going on at once. I know a lot of talented people are out there preaching the wonders of a one pan/pot/sheet pan meal and I just asked you to use three (one is just for boiling pasta but still). Look, if you want roasty vegetables in your pasta and you want to finish all of this in under an hour then there really isn’t any way around it. It will be okay.
Also: DON’T FORGET TO SAVE SOME F*CKING PASTA WATER! This should be a law of pasta cooking and a lot of people are already clued in but I’m saying this for you, sitting in the back laughing because maybe you smoked a little weed before you came to my site. Pasta water is filled with starch from pasta – so if your sauce isn’t coating the noodles a splash of the stuff will help it stick. If your sauce maybe got a little too thick, it will thin things out without making them too watery. Always scoop some pasta water out before you strain your pasta, just in case.
I’m going to level with you, I like this pasta with broccoli but I love it with eggplant. When it’s summer and eggplant is in season, I love to get the little fairytale eggplants from the farmer’s market and halve them lengthwise to roast. They’re adorable and delicious. You could really substitute any sliced, chopped etc vegetable you want to roast and toss in.
I call for hot Italian sausage here, but I’ve used ginger chicken sausage and lamb Merguez sausage with great success which is just to say go with your gut and do what you want (that’s really all I ever want you to do anyway). This is probably a good spot to tell you pretty much any pesto will also work here if you didn’t/don’t want to make mine. It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s fine.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40-60 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 3 cup broccoli florets or eggplant pieces
- 1 T honey
- 1 ts red pepper flakes
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb pasta
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
- 1 lb hot italian sausage casings removed
- 1 bunch kale stalks removed, torn into 3in pieces
- 3-4 garlic clove grated or finely chopped
- 1/2 preserved lemon peel finely chopped
- kosher salt + pepper to taste
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup sorrel pesto
- 4 oz feta or goat cheese cut or crumbled
- 1/4 cup paprika breadcrumbs
Ingredients
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- Preheat your oven to 400F. Toss broccoli florets with honey, pepper flakes and olive oil and some salt and spread out in a single layer on a sheet tray. Cook for 30 minutes or until roasty and deeply browned in spots.
- While broccoli is roasting, bring a pot of well salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to box instructions and reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
- In a large saute pan over medium high, spread out sausage and cook for at least 5 minutes before stirring to get some good crispy bits (but keep going until cooked through). Add kale, garlic and preserved lemon and cook until kale is tender (2-5 minutes). Turn off the heat.
- Add roasted broccoli, cooked pasta and pesto to the saute pan and mix to coat evenly. Add pasta water a tablespoon at a time if needed to thin pesto and smooth the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste
- Add cheese and mix evenly. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs just before serving.
In the summer, eggplant can be substituted for broccoli. I like the tiny fairytale eggplants either halved or quartered. Cook according to above instructions.
Preserved lemon is a middle eastern pickle. You can for sure find it at Middle Eastern specialty shops and online. In Houston they are consistently available at Phoenicia Market and Central Market.