Pasta with broccoli, sausage, olive oil and red pepper flakes is a family favorite that I tend to make when cooler weather sets in — which has suddenly happened in Paris after a couple of warm months that went by in a flash. We had a hailstorm yesterday and overnight the temperature dipped to 6º C (43º F). It’s enough to send you scrambling for a warm quilt and a bottle of hearty red, which goes well with this spicy, garlic-infused dish.
Fusilli aux brocolis et saucisses / Pasta with broccoli and sausage
Preparation is super simple. You slice up and fry the sausage, chop the broccoli into bite-sized flowerets, boil the pasta — adding the broccoli towards the end, drain and toss in a sauce of olive oil, garlic and crushed cayenne or red pepper flakes. Top with freshly grated parmesan — et voilà. A one-dish meal in 20 minutes or less.
The recipe may be made with any kind of pasta. I chose fusilli this time because the sauce clings nicely to the little spirals. Sometimes I make it with spaghetti or with conchiglie rigate (shells). As Italian sausage isn’t that easy to find in Paris, I generally use a similar French variety called saucisse de Toulouse. What it lacks is Italian spicing — but you can do that yourself by combining the sausage meat with some fennel seed and herbs.
To make more of a meal of it, a lovely Italian-style starter in autumn would be country ham with fresh figs. Another possibility is ‘Salade de l’ambassadeur‘, a salad with bresaola and late summer fruit (which got its name from the person who gave me the recipe, the former French ambassador to Poland!). Vegetarian starters that marry well include burrata with mesclun and hazelnuts, roasted eggplant salad and salad with garlic and croutons. And by the way, a veggie version of this dish is easy — just omit the sausage.
If you’re serving this pasta to guests and would like to add a dessert, I’d recommend tiramisu, which is not only popular but also fun to make. Or you could serve a fresh fig tart, a walnut tart or — why not? — a classic French apple tart. Any of these options would make a fine coda to a comforting meal as, after the joys of summer, we head into a cooler, darker season…
Happy cooking.
