Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe is an easy and flavorful dish accented with fresh basil, pine nuts and pecorino romano.
Perfect as a main dish with your favorite bread or serve on the side of grilled steak. The orecchiette or ‘little ears’ are the perfect vessel for all that pecorino and pine nuts. Broccoli rabe adds that beautiful green color and its slightly bitter taste pairs great with the lemon garlic olive oil dressing.
Ingredients in Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe
- Orecchiette – Little ear shaped pasta perfect for holding all the flavor.
- Broccoli Rabe – If you can’t find this use broccolini.
- Pecorino Romano – Similar to parmesan, but has a sharper flavor.
- Pine Nuts – Just a half cup so it won’t break the bank.
- Basil – Fresh basil.
- Lemon – One lemon juiced.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic cloves.
- Chili Flakes – Just a pinch to liven things up a bit.
- Olive Oil – I like extra virgin for the flavor.
Related Recipes
Need a pasta salad to bring to the party? You’ve come to the right place. No boring pasta salad here, just fresh ingredients with lots of flavor. First up is Greek Pasta Salad made with penne rigate and plenty of vinaigrette with cucumber, kalamata olives, bell pepper, grape tomatoes and feta. If you love Mexican corn, try this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad with fresh corn, tomatoes, chilies, bacon, cilantro, cotija cheese and orecchiette pasta in a creamy Tajin dressing. One of my go-to pasta salad is Out West’s Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad combines cellentani pasta, arugula, pine nuts and cherry tomatoes in a light lemon vinaigrette dressing. It’s mayo free and gets better as it sits..perfect for hot summer potlucks.
Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe
Ingredients
- 3 cups Orecchiette dried pasta
- 2 bunches broccoli rabe or broccolini
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 6 large garlic cloves grated
- 1/2 tsp. red chili flakes
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1 lemon juiced
- 5 oz. pecorino romano
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook dried orecchiette pasta according to package directions al dente style (not overcooked). Remove and drain, but don't rinse.
- While pasta is cooking, boil a sauté pan full of water. Blanch broccoli rabe until just easy pierced with a fork. Remove and place in ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.
- Place that empty sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, then grated garlic, continuously stirring so garlic doesn't burn. Add in red chili flakes and blanched broccoli rabe, toss to coat. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked orecchiette pasta, broccoli rabe mixture, pine nuts, lemon juice, pecorino romano, basil and salt and pepper.
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