Cooking with Vera

I’m excited to be participating in next Saturday’s Farm-to-Fork Taste-Nic on the Davidson Town Green!  Come out and sample my Penne with Broccoli and Sausage, featuring ingredients from our local farmers.  More information about the Taste-Nic can be found here.

serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 pound penne or any short pasta
• 2 bunches of broccoli cut into florets
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 anchovy fillets, minced
• 1 lb. of Italian sausage (sweet or hot), casings removed
• Kosher salt and ground pepper
• Parmesan, grated, for serving

Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. In last 3 minutes of cooking, add broccoli and cook until bright green and crisp-tender. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and broccoli.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, make the vinaigrette: whisk together oil, garlic, lemon zest and juice, anchovies, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Add sausage to pot and cook over medium-high, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, return pasta, broccoli to skillet and add vinaigrette.

Toss well to combine, adding enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan.