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"Little Ears" Pasta

"Little Ears" Pasta

with Italian Pork Sausage, Baby Broccoli, and Pesto

The backbone of this quick and easy dinner is orecchiette—a round-shaped pasta named for the “little ears” they resemble. It’s traditionally associated with Apulia, the southern Italian region from which we drew our inspiration for this recipe. The pasta is tossed with bites of baby broccoli and sweet sausage, then given a nice coating of basil-packing pesto and Parmesan cheese.

Tags:
Spicy
Allergens:
Wheat
Milk

Produced in a facility that processes eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat.

Total Time30 minutes
Prep Time
DifficultyEasy

Ingredients

/ serving 4 people

12 ounce

Baby Broccoli

18 ounce

Sweet Italian Pork Sausage

12 ounce

Orecchiette Pasta

(Contains Wheat)

1 teaspoon

Chili Flakes

4 ounce

Pesto

(Contains Milk)

½ cup

Parmesan Cheese

(Contains Milk)

Not included in your delivery

4 teaspoon

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

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Nutrition Values

/ per serving
Energy (kJ)4058 kJ
Calories970 kcal
Fat59 g
Saturated Fat17 g
Carbohydrate77 g
Sugar5 g
Dietary Fiber6 g
Protein38 g
Cholesterol100 mg
Sodium1290 mg
Due to the different suppliers we purchase our products from, nutritional facts per meal can vary from the website to what is received in the delivered box, depending on your region.

Utensils

Large Pot
Strainer
Large Pan

Instructions

Prep
1

Wash and dry all produce. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Trim woody bottom ends from baby broccoli, then cut stalks and florets into 1-inch pieces. Remove sausage from casings.

Boil Pasta
2

Once water is boiling, add orecchiette to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-12 minutes. Carefully scoop out and reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water, then drain.

Cook Baby Broccoli
3

Heat a large drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add baby broccoli and 4 tsp water. Cover and steam 3 minutes. Uncover and increase heat to medium high. Cook, tossing occasionally, until browned and tender, 3-6 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside.

Cook Sausage
4

Heat another large drizzle of olive oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage, breaking up meat into pieces. Cook, tossing, until crisp at edges and no longer pink, 4-5 minutes. Add a pinch of chili flakes (to taste) and cook another 30 seconds. TIP: Skip the chili flakes if anyone at your table isn’t a fan of spicy heat—you can always add them at the end.

Make Sauce
5

Add orecchiette, baby broccoli, pesto, pasta cooking water, and half the Parmesan to pan. Toss until everything is well-coated and a thick sauce has formed, 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Plate and Serve
6

Divide orecchiette mixture between plates. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and serve.

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