Friday, August 15, 2014

“One Pan” Orecchiette with Sausage and Arugula – Perfect for People with Only One Pan

Okay, now all you broke college students can leave me alone (he said with a wink). This delicious orecchiette pasta recipe only has a handful of ingredients, is very cheap to make, and probably most importantly, only uses one pan or pot for the entire procedure.

Every year when it’s time to go back to school, I get inundated with requests from students to post recipes that are super easy, only cost pennies, and require a bare minimum of kitchen equipment. This should work.

And here’s a quick idea; the next time you're going out to get another tattoo, don't, and instead go buy something for your kitchen. Do this every-other time, and you’ll eventually have a nicely stocked kitchen, and still plenty of ink covering your body.

Anyway, back to the recipe! Cooking pasta in the pan with the other ingredients lets it absorb more flavor, and the starch it releases creates a very nice, rich, and comforting sauce. This does require you paying attention and constantly adjusting at the stove. You need to adjust your heat up and down, and also how much liquid you're putting in.

Speaking of liquid, only use stock or broth that’s homemade and has no salt in it, or a very low-sodium packaged broth. If you start with a seasoned stock it will be way too salty to eat when you're done. Otherwise, you should be in for an eye opening, or should I say ear opening, treat. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 2 large or 4 small portions:
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
8 ounces spicy Italian sausage
about 3 1/2 cups unsalted or low-sodium chicken broth
1 generous cup orecchiette pasta
salt to taste
2 large handfuls roughly chopped arugula or other greens (if using something like rapini, add earlier so it has time to cook through.
grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

50 comments:

Unknown said...

This looks delicious! If I were to add mushrooms to this, when should I add them? Thanks!

PhoebeN said...

I only have one pan because I live with 5 other people in a dorm and there's no space for more of my stuff in the kitchen! Not because I have too many tattoos ... I'm too poor for tattoos anyway ...

Anyway this looks good, will give it a go

Unknown said...

It was strange watching a video where you didn't mention the singer, Chaka Khan (By which I mean you didn't use a shake of cayenne).

Anonymous said...

I once cooked for an "Italian" who, continually, cooked his pasta before incorporating it into a dish.
This...was PERFECT!!

As always, Thanks!

Chef John said...

I'd add shrooms at beginning with onions. Enjoy!

Wren said...

Huh, I made a version of this last night for dinner. I guess it's those fundamentals of poor college cooking.

Mary W said...

My young granddaughter doesn't like spicy things so would this still be ok if I used the mild Italian instead or will the spicy be less spicy once cooked?

Chef John said...

Definitely use the mild! FYI, hot peppers don't get less hot as you cook them. Enjoy!

Laura H said...

I'm not a college student, but just gve this a go! it was WONDERFUL!

pseudoscientist said...

Hey, Chef John! If I wanted to add white wine to this sauce, when would be the best time to add it - before or after the broth? So excited to try this method. Hoping it'll put me one step closer to emulating my favorite pasta dish at home.

Thanks for all the delicious work you do!

Unknown said...

"You are the Mork of your pork." Touché Chef John, touché.

Chef John said...

I'd add wine before the stock!

Unknown said...

I made this yesterday with spinach. It was quite good and very easy !

azurebuck said...

The Courtney Love of Greens, awesome. Can't wait to make this, thanks for the laugh. You're an amazing chef! Making the Beef Satay tonight! The Bacon Ranch Skewers were a huge hit!

Unknown said...

Do you think Broccali Rabe would work in this, in place of the arugala?

Unknown said...

Nice, subtle nod to Robin Williams.

withextraonions said...

This tasted great and it was super easy. Not exactly healthy...but...hah...I don't think healthy was in the commercial.

My boyfriend loved it. I always promise him quick easy meals and I always end up getting fancy and taking much longer. I told him, "Yeah, this will be quick." He smiled while knowing history shows I'm lying. Boy was he shocked when a few minutes later I said it was done and the kitchen was clean before we ate... Num nums.

Chef John said...

Thanks! He's a luck guy! ;)

Chef John said...

Jennifer, Yes! I actually mentioned that in the video.

Warren said...

Just wrapped up making this with swiss chard, and doubling all measurements. Came out wonderfully. This is going to be on regular rotation now.

McShine said...

Such a treat! I added some leftover carrots and used the wimpy baby arugula. Came out amazing! This will definitely go into my favorites list. Thanks Chef :)

Fleakkeren said...

Hello John.

This looks amazing. I'm a foodie newbie. "Spicy Italian sausage" is not exactly common where I'm from (Denmark). When I google "spicy Italian sausage" in my own language see what's what there does not seem to be once answer as to what it actually consists of.

I imagine it's important to get the right meat for this dish. Maybe you or someone else could tell me what's actually in these sausages?
Thank you!

Sal Paradise said...

This is more of a technique question, but if you know you will need more liquid, why not add more at the beginning? I understand you are building up and may not know the ultimate amount, but it seems clear you need at least double than what you started with. Would it affect the cooking in some way?

Unknown said...

Chef John I've been lurking for a while but thisis the first dish I've actually followed the directions start to finish and it came out very good! It would have been great but I failed in one respect, I used cheap store-bought "reduced sodium" chicken broth and it is super salty! It's edible, but I should have listened and used a lower salt or home-made broth, like you said. Turns out you make these points for a reason lol.
But even so, I love the flavor and the nice thickened sauce that comes out at the end! Ok, back to lurking, and will follow directions more closely next time. So fun to learn from a real live chef! :-)

aaronchow said...

That's so cool!

D. Gwenne Dawson said...

I used chicken Italian sausage, farfalle, and baby kale -- the sausage because I don't eat pork (aside from the occasional bacon), the farfalle because I prefer it XD, and the baby kale because I couldn't find arugula of any variety or level of unruliness. Turned out quite well :3

Josh said...

I made this last night. I used turkey sausage instead and added mushrooms (with the onions Karen) I also added spinach and chard with the arugula. Delicious.

Unknown said...

My husband hooked my son on your website, and now they both e-mail and text back and forth with the latest Chef John dish each has tried. This was one dish my son made last week, so of course we're trying it this week. The kid is very picky and said this was "amazingly good." And at last I have a dish dedicated to Orecchiette--one of my favorite pastas--"elephant ear" or "small ear" because doesn't it look like one.

squigglesworth said...

I used rigatoni instead of orecchiette (because rigatoni is what I had in the pantry) which was sort of a mistake. Definitely use something smaller.

gautam said...

Kim-Christian,

Re: Italian sausage, many recipes on the net. Here is a recipe that you can make and use loose.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/homemade-mild-italian-sausage-recipe.html

Basically, pork meat with 25-30% fat, cayenne and paprika powder to taste, some toasted and crushed fennel seed, some anise seed crushed, if you like, crushed black pepper to taste, sea salt to taste, crushed garlic or dry garlic granules to taste, chopped Italian parsley, some red wine, mix well, refrigerate covered, until meat is well seasoned. Use.

Jacob LeMatty said...

is rotini pasta acceptable??

Chef John said...

not sure! might break up!

Unknown said...

My son turned me on to your site and now, one of my favorite go to sites for new recipes! Made this tonight on my son's request and OMG it was wonderful!!! Thank you for such delicious inspiration!

Unknown said...

Kim-Christian N, typically spicy Italian sausage is a pork sausage made with hot peppers and seasoned with fennel, which gives it its distinctive flavour.

bigc.erwin said...

what could you use besides arugula?

Toddy said...

I liked what Josh said he did...great idea

Unknown said...

Tonight we chose this dish, thinking it was fun and easy. It was found to be both!!! We prepared it with bow tie pasta , added a spicy sausage, and mushrooms!!!! Delish!!!! This has been one of the best pasta dishes we have ever eaten! It was light and hearty all at once. The addition of the mushrooms were great, and the seasoning was perfect without the addition of any salt or pepper. The broth used and sausage added immense flavor. Chef John you have a dedicated follower. Again, this was an absolutely decadent dish! I can't wait to make this again. It was delicious!!!!

George said...

Chef John I have a real dumb question..Is there a difference between chicken stock & chicken broth?? Love your recipes thanks

Unknown said...

I have now made it twice. I will say that I have deviated from the original recipe just a little. I did mince up some garlic and added it when the onions were done cooking and then i added some dried Italian herbs along with some red chili flakes. Outside of that I double the recipe and it is to die for. Thanks Chef John you are the best. You have aloud me to becoming a good cook.

kevlette said...

My family is from Puglia and this is a very typical pasta dish from that region. We make it a lot but it was always missing something until I tried this technique. Cooking all the ingredients in one pot and (more importantly) using the stock to cook the pasta is genius. It added a layer of flavor and texture I couldn't get otherwise. Grazie!

Orenwolf said...

Chef John,

I've seen a lot of these recipes for one-pot pasta, and several of them just add the required amount of broth, in it's entirety, at the beginning, then vigorously simmer until the pasta is cooked through. Is there a reason you prefer the "little at a time" method over adding a larger amount at once?

Thanks!

Unknown said...

I tried this last night and I have to say it was delicious. Thanks for the Idea Chef John.....

Unknown said...

I'm a college student who made this as part of a meal prep for this week's dinner. My housemates kept coming in and saying how good it smelled while I was cooking. One even asked "when i became such a chef." Love this recipe! Thanks Chef John!!

Unknown said...

awesome classic recipe with a twist, but can you post approximate cooking times? Love your food.

New Sister said...

Does this re-heat well? I want to take to a family that needs meals prepared,,, should I bring them the sausage/pasta mixture & greens separate for them to heat/stir in the greens, or can I prepare in full (with rapini) and have them re-heat the whole thing up? THANK YOU!!

Michael said...

Chef, I just want to thank you for this video. The original recipe is great and I've also used this same method with different meats/veg, liquids, and pastas and it produces a delicious sauce every time. I used to say it was Alton Brown that taught me how to cook, but I think now I can say that Chef John is just as much part of that.

Thanks Chef John, for all that you do!

Jackie Patti said...

I made using mild Italian sausage (what I usually have on hand) and escarole because I don't like arugula. At least I bought the little ear pasta! It was quite yummy.

Unknown said...

Love you food Chef John. Keep it up, proud of you!

Greg said...

This recipe inspired me to try my own variation. I used homemade sausage, onion, garlic, bow tie pasta, spinach, butter nut squash spirals, mushrooms, red bell pepper, green onion, paprika and oregano. Came out wonderful, everyone loved it. Thanks Chef John!

SweetAngelPR said...

This was sooo easy and delicious. I added mushrooms and used spinach instead of arugula. Thanks Chef John!