Ziti with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
Serves 4
Pasta is my favorite food (above all others), and my fascination
with it and love for it is very much due to the techniques I learned
watching Bastianich make it on TV. Standing by her side as she
made this (and as she let me break up the sausage with a spoon)
was a treat beyond words. It was also very useful: when she
finishes cooking a recipe on TV, you can’t taste it. So I was careful
to observe, while tasting this in her kitchen, that her pasta is way
more unified than mine usually is: the sauce is almost fully
absorbed by the pasta, and the proportions of cheese, broccoli
rabe, and sausage are completely in balance. Getting that balance
right is the hardest part, and the best way to learn it is by doing.Kosher salt
¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
½ pound sweet Italian sausage, out of the casing
1 pound ziti
2 pounds broccoli rabe (broccoli di rape), washed and drained,
stems peeled* with a paring knife, leaves roughly chopped
Crushed red pepper flakes*
½ cup grated Pecorino cheese* (or Grana Padano or