Despite the cloying name, I thought this Rachael Ray dish for pasta with salami and broccoli rabe looked good when watching Food Network recently. I thought the results were good but not great, though John seemed to like it a lot. It’s a super easy recipe. I basically halved it last night and there still ended up being a ton of leftovers.
salt and pepper
2 bunches broccoli rabe, trimmed and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
4 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound rigatoni with lines, cooked to al dente
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus some to pass at table (I was out of this and ended up using a hard cheese I’d gotten at Cheesetique)
1/3 pound salami, chopped (Genoa, sopressata, hot or sweet, or a mix)
Bring 2 inches water in a deep skillet to a boil for broccoli rabe and 1 large pot of water to a boil for pasta. Salt the water liberally.Simmer the broccoli rabe in water 10 to 12 minutes, then drain. Return the skillet to medium heat with 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Add garlic and red pepper to the oil and gently cook a couple of minutes, add broccoli rabe and cook 5 minutes more.
While the broccoli rabe cooks, drop the rigatoni into the boiling water and cook until al dente. Just before draining reserve 1 cup starchy liquid.
Combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salami and black pepper, to taste, in a pasta bowl. Add the starchy liquid and stir.
