Recreating a Restaurant Favorite at Home
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 Several weeks ago, Connor’s family took us out to a popular restaurant in the heart of Arlington called Tallula. One of the things I enjoy most about dining out is perusing the menu, inquiring about a waiter’s favorite dish, and asking about any specials they may be offering that evening. There are definitely moments where I take my time deciding between several dishes that may have caught my eye, but on many occasions, there will be one or two dishes that stand out among the rest. In this case, it was an appetizer of homemade cavatelli pasta with escarole, chili flakes, and locally sourced veal sausage. It arrived at the table piping hot, garnished with shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and full of flavor and spice.
While I enjoyed it tremendously, I also happily came to the conclusion once I had devoured the whole plate, that this was exactly the type of dish I could easily recreate at home for an easy, satisfying dinner any day of the week.
Tip of the Day: More and more, I find myself quickly jotting down flavor combinations or rough descriptions of a favorite dish while I’m out at a restaurant or café. If you are extra nosy (like myself) and ask a lot of questions, the waiters will often give you an idea of how to put the dish together too. Send a text message to yourself or find a spare piece of paper to scribble on. Instant inspiration for your next meal at home!
This past weekend, I decided to put my “dish recreation” skills to the test. In an effort to get locally sourced meat, I turned to the Falls Church farmer’s market, where I found Stachowski Brand Charcuterie’s delicious, hot Italian pork sausage.
Though I was not able to find escarole, I easily substituted it with another leafy, quick-to-cook green in the form of rapini (otherwise known as Broccoli Rabe). All the other components of the dish, pasta, hot pepper flakes, olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and garlic, were readily available in my pantry at home.
Quick, easy, satisfying, and exactly how I remembered it…but with my own little twists.
Chiocciole with Rapini & Hot Italian Sausage
Serves 2-3
8-10 ounces chiocciole or fusili whole-wheat pasta
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon red hot pepper flakes
12 ounces hot Italian sausage (pork/chicken), casings removed
1 bunch of rapini (otherwise known as Broccoli Rabe)
1/2 cup pasta water
Parmigiano-Reggiano, shaved (garnish)
Directions:
- Prepare ingredients: Remove casings from sausages. Mince garlic. Trim and wash rapini, removing any tough stalks. Set aside.
- Bring large pot of water to boil. Add salt and pasta and cook according to instructions.
- While pasta is cooking, bring large non-stick skillet to medium-high heat. Add two tablespoons (roughly) of extra virgin olive oil. Add sausage (without casings). garlic, and red hot pepper flakes. Using wooden spoon, slowly break apart meat until in bite-size pieces, cooking until just pink.
- Add rapini and pasta water. Bring heat to low. Cover pan and allow greens to steam slightly. Remove cover and allow mixture to cook slowly on low heat, allowing pasta water to evaporate slightly.
- Drain pasta in colander and immediately add to skillet. Turn off heat and slowly stir until comes together.
- Serve and garnish with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Enjoy!
Reader Comments (13)
your chiocciole looks delicious. Great photos. love your blog.
This sounds delicious -- pasta with sausage is my fav!
Wow, that looks amazing! And not too difficult. Thanks for sharing!
Love the combo of spicy sausage, broccoli rabe and parmesan cheese. They will forever be delicious together. I also love recreating dishes at home. Job well done I'd say :-)
Thanks so much! Your recipes look delicious. Thanks for visiting and saying hi!
It's a classic combination! I don't know why its taken me so long to finally make it. Definitely going to become a regular in my kitchen. Thanks Maggie!
Not difficult at all--comes together in the time it takes to boil the pasta. Thanks!
So good. I loved the sausage I picked up at the local farmers market too. I have to say, that kinda made the meal. Thank you!!
That really looks good and thanks for the ideas about 'borrowing' flavor combinations. I will have to leave a bigger tip next time I find a recipe to recreate. I am sure I will pester the waiter until he just writes it down for me :) Thanks for the tip about the Arlington restaurant. We're down in Fredericksburg but always love to try something new when in the city. Thanks!
[...] Recreating a Restaurant Favorite at Home [...]
I love sausage with pasta. Of course, I think I will be doubling the cheese proportion (more than just for garnishing...) No need to go to the resto...Perfect dish!
You can never do wrong with more Parmigiano-Reggiano. That is my motto in life ;)
This is one of my favorite dishes lately, its really easy to put together but has so much flavor.
[...] that I won’t forget any time soon. Unfortunately I don’t think I can or would be able to recreate these dishes in my own kitchen, but I think that is what makes these types of meals all the more special. Your taste [...]