Ingredients (~8 servings)
- 1 1/2 heads broccolini, sliced into 2-inch segments
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 1 lb dry pasta (like penne or farfalle)
- 2 (12-ounce) packages fully-cooked chicken sausage links, sliced into rounds
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 (24-ounce) jars marinara sauce
- 1 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
- 3/4 cup finely shredded Pecorino Romano or Parmesan
- 1/4 cup basil chiffonade
- Crushed red pepper to taste (optional)
Get the Broccolini Roasting
Preheat your oven to 425F and toss the sliced broccolini in a bowl with 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil.
Spread it on a sheet pan and roast for ~15-20 minutes until the tips are browned and the stems are tender when you poke them with a fork.
Keep this going while you work on everything else.
Get Your Pasta Water Going
Set up a large pot of water to boil on the stovetop.
Once it’s at a rolling boil, salt it generously – it should taste like seawater – and add the pasta.
Cook according to package directions to your preferred doneness, but reserve about 3/4 cup of the pasta water before draining.
The starchy pasta water helps bind the sauce later.
Brown the Sausage and Build the Sauce
Add 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil to a large pan over medium heat.
Once the oil shimmers, add the sausage rounds in a single layer and cook until browned on both sides, ~9-10 minutes total, flipping halfway through.
Make a little space in the middle of the pan and pour in the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil, then add the minced garlic right into that oil.
Sauté the garlic for ~1 minute until fragrant, then stir it up with the sausage.
Simmer the Marinara
Pour the marinara sauce into the pan with the sausage and garlic and give everything a good stir.
Adjust the heat so the sauce comes to a gentle simmer and let it bubble away until the broccolini is done and the pasta is ready.
This gives the flavors time to meld and concentrates the sauce slightly.
Bring It All Together
About a minute before the pasta is done, pour the half-and-half into the sauce and stir to combine.
Add the drained pasta to the pan along with the Pecorino and basil, then toss everything to coat.
Add some of the reserved pasta water if you want a thinner sauce – start with 1/4 cup and add more as needed.
Fold in the roasted broccolini and serve with crushed red pepper, extra cheese, and more fresh basil if you want.
Weeknight Chicken Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
Ingredients (~8 servings)
- 1 1/2 heads broccolini sliced into 2-inch segments
- 1/4 cup olive oil divided
- 1 lb dry pasta like penne or farfalle
- 2 packages fully-cooked chicken sausage links 12-ounce, sliced into rounds
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 jars marinara sauce 24-ounce
- 1 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
- 3/4 cup finely shredded Pecorino Romano or Parmesan
- 1/4 cup basil chiffonade
- Crushed red pepper to taste optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Toss broccolini with 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, spread on sheet pan, and roast 15-20 minutes until browned and tender.
- Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 3/4 cup pasta water before draining.
- Heat 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil in large pan over medium heat. Add sausage rounds and brown 9-10 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Push sausage aside, add remaining 1 Tbsp oil to center of pan, then add garlic. Sauté 1 minute until fragrant and stir into sausage.
- Pour marinara into pan and bring to gentle simmer. Cook until pasta is ready.
- One minute before pasta is done, stir half-and-half into sauce.
- Add drained pasta, Pecorino, and basil to pan and toss to coat. Add reserved pasta water as needed to thin sauce.
- Fold in roasted broccolini and serve with crushed red pepper if desired.
