The BEST Sausage & Rapini Pasta - Unlocking Fast Food at Home

A recent study says Toronto’s traffic is THIRD worst in the world, not that we’re hugely surprised to hear it.  A slog across the city is only one of the reasons why you might not feel up to making dinner on any given night and yes there are some tasty meal-delivery options out there, but having a well-stocked pantry is the route to a super easy delicious meal, and beats take-out (in speed, price, nutrition - you name it) almost any day.

Your pantry of course includes your freezer. It’s so helpful to have long-lasting ingredients for a few “insta-dinners” at the ready, and it’s always fun to hear what other people have stashed away. Is it frozen Asian dumplings or pierogis, homemade stock, corn tortillas, bags of nuts, fresh chilis, lime leaves, grated fresh coconut or the end of a batch of bolognaise?

Easy to defrost and cook meats are dinner savers (sausage and bacon are flavour-packed options). Anchovies, dried mushrooms and even sun-dried tomatoes are secret umami weapons. Parmesan, garlic, olive oil and pasta are just basic essentials. It’s always wise to have a few frozen veggies on hand (hello peas and spinach) or just longer-lasting ones (root veg and most of the cruciferous family) and rapini is a reasonably well-behaved option when you buy it squeaky fresh. You maybe know all this already. But the real key to speedy and satisfying meals is also having some flavour-packed sauces and condiments to bring it all together, and that’s where we at Flavourfull come in. We’re happy to introduce you to some of our favs.

The Chuck Hughes hot (and mild) pepper spreads are like a saucier version of Italian peperoncini piccanti. We’d had in the fridge for awhile before we thought to add it to a pasta one night and there’s been no looking back. Because the spread is a little harder to find, and the Sausage & Rapini Pasta recipe below has become such a go-to, it was one of the first additions we made to our store line-up. And because we now also carry the Terroni peperoncini, it was only a matter of time before we added it into the pasta too - they add different elements, try it out and see.


Sausage & Rapini Pasta

1/3 cup olive oil, divided
1 lb sausage (chicken or Italian pork) casings removed
1 lb orecchiette, cappelletti or other small “cup shaped” pasta
1/3 cup chopped garlic
1 large bunch rapini (a little over 1 lb), stem ends trimmed, rough chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup Chuck Hughes pepper spread
3 tbsp Terroni peperoncini
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat.
2. Heat a large high-sided skillet or saute pan over medium high heat. Add 1-2 tbsp olive oil and sausages, using your fingers or a wooden spoon to break them up into small pieces. Cook for 5-6 min or until sausage bits are browned and cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a plate leaving any oil or fat behind in pan.
3. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions until al dente, drain reserving about 2 cups pasta cooking water.
4. Turn heat under skillet to low, add remaining oil and garlic and saute for 1-2 min or until garlic has softened. Add rapini, turn heat up to medium low and cook, stirring for 5 min or until rapini is tender. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Transfer drained pasta to skillet and stir to combine with rapini mixture over low heat. Add pepper spread, peperoncini, and up to about 1/2 cup pasta cooking water scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen and incorporate any browned bits in the sauce. Add in reserved sausage and Parmesan and adjust seasoning to taste.

Serves 4