6 ounces Italian sausage, sweet or hot

1 pound orecchiette

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 lbs broccoli rabe, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup ricotta cheese (don’t use the bad stuff)

1/2 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese

A pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Remove the sausage from its casing and crumble into a large skillet.

Add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sausage is no longer pink and much of the fat has been rendered.

Scrape the sausage into a sieve and drain off as much fat as possible, then blot on paper towels. Set aside on a plate. Don’t wash the pan yet.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the orecchiette 2 minutes short of al dente. This pasta is thicker than most and takes a bit longer to cook.

Scoop out and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta in a colander.

In the skillet, cook the garlic in some more olive oil over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant but not brown.

Add the broccoli rabe and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes longer.

Add the reserved pasta cooking water, reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook, stirring once or twice, for 4 to 5 minutes, until the broccoli rabe is tender but not mushy.

Add the cooked sausage, the ricotta and the orecchiette.

Stir gently to mix.

Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for about 2 minutes, until heated through.

Toss with the pecorino Romano cheese, season with salt and pepper to taste and red pepper flakes, if using, and serve.