Broccoli, Sausage & Walnut Mafalde

How we make it.

3/4 pound Mafalde, cooked per package instructions in boiling salted water
1 pound sausage (I use Jake's Country Sausage)
2 cups broccoli florets
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup Pecorino, grated
Zest of a lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large pot bring 12 cups of water to boil and salt liberally. (I use anywhere from 2-3 tablespoons of kosher salt.) In a large heavy bottomed pan on medium high brown sausage, breaking up with a spoon to large crumbles until cooked through and browned crispy on the outside. You will not drain the sausage fat as that will make your pasta sauce. Spread walnuts on a dry baking sheet and toast in the oven for 5-8 minutes until lightly browned. You will be able to smell them when they're toasted. On another baking sheet toss broccoli with olive oil and a light sprinkle of salt. Roast for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned and a little crisped. Cook pasta and reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water before draining. Add the pasta to the pan with the browned sausage and all the sausage fat. Add Pecorino on top of the pasta and 1/4 cup of pasta water straight from the pasta water, stirring it all to combine.  Add in roasted broccoli, toasted walnuts and the zest of a whole lemon, stirring to combine.

Why we make it.

I know I am on a bit of a sausage kick right now, but maybe that's my way of getting through the winter. A little pork fat in everything I do. I think it's working fine. This pasta is an old favorite, a much requested selection among friends and family. I've made it with all kinds of shapes. I made it this time with a new shape for two reasons. One, I saw Mafalde at the store and how gorgeous is its little ribbon? I had to make use. Two, I leave town tomorrow for a weekend getaway with my bad little tennis friends, which always makes me feel like I have to leave something behind in the fridge for my family. A guilt offering for the four days I'm about to spend abandoning them for overpriced cocktails, appetizers for the table and hours of playing and laying in the South Florida sunshine while they sit here like wet dogs in the mid winter rain. Pasta! Your mother loves you. That's why I made it.