Rustic Walnut Rapini Pasta

Total Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1/2 lb hot italian sausage, meat, crumbled
• 1 cup red onion, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, monced
• 1 cup walnut halves, toasted
• 1/2 lb rigatoni pasta
• 5 cups rapini, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese or 1/2 cup pecorino cheese, grated
• chili flakes

Recipe

• 1 in large skillet, brown sausage meat over medium-high heat, breaking up pieces with the back of a spoon. add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
• 2 stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. stir in walnuts.
• 3 meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. add rapini during the last minute of cooking. reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water in a measuring cup.
• 4 drain pasta and rapini in a colander.
• 5 add reserved pasta water, lemon zest, and parmesan cheese in the walnut mixture. stir in pasta and rapini.
• 6 serve with additional parmesan cheese and chili flakes, if desired.