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This dish sounds like it will give you a heart attack yes? Well I can assure you it absolutely will; but what a richly delicious way to go! Many of my favourite recipes come from myself or friends recounting old tales of travel and this one is no exception. From a Spaniard visiting Italy to my poxy English kitchen this dish will absolutely be lost in translation from its original Italian counterpart. I have encountered a similar dish in my Greek travels and so I will take my inspiration from a few sources with this recipe. Cooking though is nothing if not from your own heart and soul so the traditionalists can shove it, and shove it down their face they will as this is oh-so moreish! Origins and tweaks aside, this is a dish that is voluptuously salty, sweet and just screams at you to continue clogging those arteries and as such it is a dish that I usually succumb to on a desperate Tuesday night. You know the one, IT’s ONLY Tuesday!?! You ask yourself. When I need indulgent comfort in speedy time this calls out to me. It’s like a desperate last attempt to salvage joy from my week; but that it does with aplomb! This dish is not subtle and not especially healthy… but give this a try and indulge; perhaps with a glass of glistening Vouvray.
Notes on the Ingredients:
Blue Cheese: Use a blue cheese you like; in this instance I used a Danish Blue, but i often use roquefort. When you add the blue cheese, it melts away into the sauce very quickly, it is tempting to think you need to add more (a temptation which I often give into) but you really don’t need a lot of blue cheese to drape the pasta with its crisp salty goodness. Having said that, add the whole block if you like; cooking comes down to taste, if you like more then add more! DO IT. Broccoli: You may think that the broccoli is some superfluous attempt to make it healthy but honestly, it is a very welcome addition. More to the point, I urge you to discover the joys of charred broccoli (and cauliflower for that matter), it brings out an almost meaty sweetness in these humble veggies not to mention the delicious smoky charring. Pasta: This dish is a throw together and as such you can make your own choice of pasta. I tend to use spinach trottole as it's a pleasant texture contrast and the spinach touch is welcome too I find.
Serves 2 Prep Time: 5 mins Cooking time: 15 mins
Ingredients:
1 Small Onion - diced
1 Garlic Clove - diced, grated or chopped as desired.
1 Small Chili - to taste
2 Sausages
200g of Broccoli
Pasta - Spinach Trottole
100g Blue Cheese (add to your own taste)
Full Fat Milk - enough to help create a sauce (a splash should do)
Method: 1). Using scissors, snip the sausage into slim chunks (pound coin thickness) and fry in a pan at a medium high heat to get colour on both sides.
2). Turn down the heat to medium, move the sausage to the edge of the pan and add the diced onion, garlic and chili over the heat. Fry lightly to soften.
3). Meanwhile, boil a pan of water and blanch/steam the broccoli for a few minutes (you want to undercook it).
4). Add the pasta to the boiling water. 5). Heat a griddle pan to a high heat and cook the broccoli until it is suitably charred; then remove to a side plate. 6). Add the blue cheese into the pan and allow it to melt. 7). Add a dash or 2 of milk to the pan to turn into a sauce; keep mixing and add the oregano and pepper to the pan. 8). When the pasta is cooked, add it all into the pan along with the broccoli and some of the pasta water. Combine the ingredients and get the sauce coated all over the pasta.