Rachel's Broccoli Rabe with Sausage

As promised, here is the Broccoli Rabe with Sausage that I made the other night to go along with the Shallota Flavor Spaghetti. Although I thought it was a rather strange combination of foods at first, it was actually a pretty decent accompaniment to the spaghetti. It added a vegetable and a bit of protein to the meal which otherwise would have been lacking. Unfortunately, there were some mixed emotions over this one in our house though. I thought it was pretty bland tasting, but the soon-to-be-hubby just loved it. I chalk it up to the fact that he would probably eat grass if it had a bit of sausage mixed in. Broccoli rabe can be rather bitter, and this just never seemed to cook out enough for me. If you decide to make this and like spicy food, I would definitely add some chili flakes or something just to give it a little more zing.

Making it was a breeze though. Rachel came up with a nice way of preparing the whole thing - boil water in a deep skillet and then drain the pasta and use the same pan to saute it all together. I never would have thought to boil a veggie in a big pan! I actually used our big non-stick wok and it worked perfectly. Although I wasn't head-over-heels for this one, I'll give it an A+ for clean-up.

Broccoli Rabe with Sausage
Adapted from 30 Minute Meals - Rachel Ray

1 large bundle broccoli rabe (1 1/4 - 1 1/2 pounds)
Salt
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 pound bulk Italian hot or sweet sausage (or a combination)

• Fill a large saute pan or wok about 3/4 full of water and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Chop the broccoli rabe into a few inch pieces, trimming off the stalky ends.
• Add a handful of salt to the boiling water then add the broccoli pieces and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Carefully drain the broccoli rabe and water from the pan.
• Using the same pan, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat.
• Add sausage and use a wood spoon to break it apart as it begins to brown.
• After sausage is browned (6-7 minutes), add the broccoli rabe back into the pan and toss to combine with sausage.