Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe

Heat a bit of olive oil in a shallow Dutch oven, add the sausage out of its casing and break it up with a wooden spoon.

Cook until nearly cooked through and coloured, then remove, leaving the browned bits in the pot.

Add a bit more olive oil and three thinly sliced garlic cloves to infuse, with hot pepper flakes.

Add the broccoli rabe without boiling it first (to reduce bitterness it can be boiled about 2 minutes first).

Add a ladle of the pasta water, cover and cook slowly on medium-low until wilted, very soft and a muted dark green.

Add the pasta to the boiling water, then salt it; cook to about a minute short of al dente.

Return the sausage to the pot.

Add the pasta with some starchy cooking water, raise the heat to high, add plenty of parmigiano and cook about two minutes so the pasta finishes and absorbs the flavour.

Stir in a tablespoon of butter and more cheese until the juices thicken and coat the pasta.