Baked Gemelli with Sausage and Broccolini

I was really struggling to come up with ideas this week... my brain was just dead. I turned to recipe searching again... and wound up on the Williams Sonoma Recipe website. I ended up printing several recipes and saving several more. This was one of the recipes. You can find the original recipe here.

I couldn't find Broccoli Rabe, so I used Broccolini instead. I used sausage from our favorite farm, Crane Dance Farm.

Everyone really enjoyed this... I was skeptical that my older son would really be able to see/taste the onions in this, as I usually chop the onion so fine he can't see them. I got no complaints! Bonus!! This recipe makes a huge amount, and fed us for 2+ meals. Next time I would half the recipe, or freeze half of it.

Baked Gemelli with Sausage and Broccolini

-serves 6-

Ingredients:

1 Lb Sweet Italian Sausage Links, cut in half then 1/2 inch pieces

12 ounces Gemelli Pasta, or other pasta, cooked until al dente

8 ounces Cipollini Onions, peeled and quartered

2 bunches (packages) Broccolini, cut into 1 inch pieces

24 cloves garlic, simmered in 1/3 cup olive oil until soft, oil reserved

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 Tablespoon dried Thyme

15 ounces Ricotta Cheese

1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan

1/4 Cup Grated Romano

Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. In a sauté pan over medium heat, brown the sausage for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the broccolini to the pan and cook until tender, 6 to 8 minutes, adding the wine after 3 minutes. Season with salt, then add the broccolini and cooking liquid to the bowl with the sausage.

2. In the same pan over medium heat, warm the reserved garlic oil. Add the onions and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and caramelized, approximately 15 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the sausage and broccolini. Save the oil and set aside. Add the pasta and garlic to the bowl and season with salt and pepper. (my garlic was golden and crispy on the outside, so I squeezed the soft garlic goodness out of each clove and put it in the bowl.)

3. Preheat your oven to 400.

4. Spoon half of the pasta mixture into a 9x11 inch glass baking dish. Spoon half the ricotta on top. Top with the remaining pasta and ricotta. Drizzle with the reserved oil. (If you're brave, sprinkle with chili flakes.) Bake for 20 minutes, then sprinkle with the Parmesan and Romano cheeses and bake for 10 minutes more until the cheese is starting to brown on top.