06-04-13-broccoli-rabe-pasta

 

 

I headed down to my favorite almost-local produce store – Gentile’s Market – yesterday, and came back with several bags of garden goodies. With lots of local produce, as well as national and international products, you really can’t beat their prices and selection. I used to drive down there weekly back when we first moved back here, but over the years, I’ve slowed the trips. It’s only about a 20 minute drive but somehow, I don’t make the effort, as much.

I’m glad I did, yesterday, though!

I had a bunch of broccoli rabe that I wanted to use, as well as a bunch of exotic mushrooms. What I needed to do, however, was figure out how to get Nonna to eat them – she’s not big on the leafy greens. The solution was to make cheese tortellini and a quick fresh tomato sauce, along with some Italian sausage. Nonna got tortellini, sauce, and sausage, and we got the whole shebang!

Everybody was happy!

I did a quick blanch of the broccoli rabe and merely added a pinch of salt and pepper. I will often go crazy with broccoli rabe and add everything from anchovies to raisins, garlic, onions, pine nuts or pistachios. Tonight, I did nothing, at all, because I knew I was going to top it with fresh tomato sauce. It didn’t need any competition.

I did the quick sauce and cooked a few sausages in the sauce as it simmered.

Onto the plate went the broccoli rabe, topped with a few tortellini, and then sauce and a sausage.

It really was good. The sweetness of the tomatoes played well with the bitterness of the broccoli rabe – and cheesy tortellini goes with everything.

We had a couple of thick slices of Sunday’s Multi-Grain bread, and later will be slices of the Frog Commissary Sour Cream Apple Pie from yesterday.

Tomorrow, I need to figure out something with leeks…