There is something so comforting about pasta. If I want to make it lower carb, I just ramp up the ratio of vegetables to pasta. With this orecchiette, little ear shaped pasta, it’s very easy to put more pasta into someone else’s bowl who wants it. More greens in mine. Who doesn’t love the versatility of pasta with greens?
I once had in an Italian restaurant: lamb sausage with rapini and orecchiette with brodo, which means broth. Although I love rapini, I have difficulty finding it even when it’s in season. So kale or another bitter green make a more frequent appearance in my house because everyone sells kale and if it’s fresh enough when purchased, it will stay fresh in my refrigerator for a couple weeks.
If you can’t find orecchiette, try another pasta shape such as small shells or elbow macaroni. What’s in your pantry that will lend itself to a simple meal?
I love sausage of all kinds too, but I don’t buy it very often. Other ground meats are more versatile and I usually have some in the freezer, so here’s what I do instead: use ground turkey or any other ground meat that I have on hand and season it up with spices you would find in sausage. In other words, I can usually make this dish with ingredients on hand from the pantry, freezer and refrigerator.
Ingredients for This Pasta With Greens:
- ground turkey or lamb
- minced garlic
- salt
- crushed fennel seeds
- dried basil
- oregano
- thyme
- paprika
- red pepper flakes
- lamb or chicken broth/stock
- rapini or kale or other bitter greens
- orecchiette or other short pasta
Brown the meat, add garlic and spices. Then I add some kind of broth. Here I used a little chicken broth and some lamb stock that I had in the freezer. Add the kale and let it simmer until it’s done to your liking. Cooking without a recipe is so fun and easy.
If you’re making pasta or any number of things that require boiling water, please put the pot of water on to boil before you begin the other prep work. You don’t want to be waiting around for water to boil when everything else is ready. Once your pasta is al dente, scoop it out with a spider and add to the pot or skillet that you have used to cook your meat and vegetables. Sprinkle with parmesan and enjoy!
The spider is helpful because it allows you to keep your salty, starchy pasta water in case you want to add a little to whatever pasta dish you are creating. I also find it quicker to wash than a colander. Win win!
Looking forward to finding some rapini this season. If you can get it, you might blanch it before adding to this dish in order to remove some of the bitterness. Depends on your palate, which is what cooking without a recipe is all about.
What’s your go-to dish that you can make with ingredients usually on hand? Here’s another simple meal with almost sausage and pasta.