Orecchiette Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Broccoli

Ingredients

• Whole wheat pasta

  Dry

  12 oz or 340g

• Sausage

  Beef, pork, chicken, skinless, smoked

  14 oz or 397g

• Broccoli

  Raw

  6 ½ cup chopped or 592g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  2 tbsp or 27g

• Garlic

  Raw

  5 cloves, minced or 15g

• Parmesan cheese

  Shredded

  5 tbsp or 25g

• Salt

  Table

  1 dash or 0.4g

• Pepper

  Spices, black

  1 dash or 0.1g

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet and brown the sausage over medium-high, breaking it up as it cooks with a wooden spoon until browned, 5 to 7 minutes; remove from heat.
2. When the water boils, add the pasta and bring back to a boil. When the water is boiling, add broccoli and cook according to pasta instructions for al dente. When pasta is almost done cooking, reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside. Drain pasta and broccoli.
3. Return the pot to the stove and set heat to high; add 1 tbsp olive oil, when hot, add garlic. Cook until golden, about 1 minute, reduce flame to low and add pasta back to the pot with the sausage.
4. Mix well, add remaining olive oil, grated cheese, salt, and pepper, to taste, mixing well and smashing any large pieces of broccoli to break up.
5. Add 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water and mix well adding more if needed. Serve in pasta bowls with additional grated cheese on the side, if desired.