Penne Pasta With Sausage & Broccolini

3 tbs olive oil
1 lb. Italian sausage bulk or remove casings (I used hot)
2 tbs minced shallot or onion
3 cloves garlic minced
1 bunch broccolini (3 or 4 stems)
1 lb. Penne pasta
½ c. Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated

Start a pasta pot of water with 2 tbs kosher salt. When pot comes to boil, add broccolini and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from water and cool in an ice bath. (ice cubes in a bowl of water) pat dry and set aside. Cook pasta in same boiling water according to pkg instructions. When pasta is done, save a cup of the cooking water. Drain pasta and set aside.

Add olive oil to a large skillet or sauté pan over medium high heat. Add sausage and cook til it starts to brown. Add shallot or onion and cook about 2 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook while breaking down the sausage with a wooden spoon or weapon of choice. When sausage has cooked, (no pink color at all) chop broccolini into ½ inch pieces. Add to sausage along with ½ c. Of the reserved pasta water. Cook about a minute to combine flavors. Carefully, fold pasta into sausage mixture. If the mixture seems a little dry, add more of the reserved pasta water. Top off with a little drizzle of olive oil and the grated cheese. Serve with a little Parmesan or Romano on the side.

Enjoy!